Together Again
by SapphirusDea
Summary: Before they even started, their relationship had ended. Ironic how a misreading of a phone number can result into her breakup with a complete stranger–who was also currently one of the most eligible bachelors in Japan.
1. Breakups

_Disclaimer: I do not own CCS, as much as I wish I do. :)_

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**1**. Breakups. . .

"I am a sad, demented, and pathetic little ladybug."

". . . _What_ did you just call yourself?"

A lovely young woman with light-brown hair -and, apparently, the one who just called herself a pathetic ladybug-, wearing a marvelous green dress and had her hair tied up in a messy bun, sighed after she set down her bottle of beer on the table rather loudly, and looked at her best friend with sadness and exasperation. "Siaolu's been avoiding me for a week. A week! Just because we had a stupid little fight over what I want and what he wants. It's not even fair that I don't get a say in this relationship."

"Yes, well, what he wants is also not fair for you."

"Hey, he's a man."

Her best friend gave her a grim look, "I can see that." The beautiful girl sighed as she flipped back her long dark hair and took a sip from her glass of champagne with grace, her dark amethyst eyes thoughtful as she took in her surrounding. The bar was filled with people that night, and she tried not to gag as a drunk man bumped against the seat next to her, smiled uglily -though she presumed he was trying to smirk at her, and utterly failing at it- before walking away, swaying. She didn't exactly imagine this to be the setting when her dear friend had asked her to "Come meet me at the seventh level of heaven this afternoon so we can fly sky high like a bunch of pretty, pink and fat little pigs!"

. . . So much for little _pigs_ now.

"Sakura, he's not a good boyfriend," Tomoyo warned, giving the other girl -who was currently drowning herself in a bottle of strong liquor down her throat- a stern look. Said girl set her glass down on the table and glared.

"And why is that?"

"He's pressuring you to do something you don't want to do; real boyfriends wouldn't do that."

"I'm just not ready! He's not _pressuring_ me or anything."

"Not stopping when you first said no is pressuring. Actually, scratch that, it's _rape_."

Sakura laughed humorlessly into her drink and swatted her hand, looking away. "That's ridiculous, Tomoyo" she said, "I'm _twenty-two_, how is _that_ rape?"

"Hey ladies," a young man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, leaning against the table beside Tomoyo's seat. "Care to have a drink?"

"Get a life," Tomoyo spat, making Sakura chuckle at her cold demeanor, "or I'll kick your ass right here, right now, and you can kiss the thing you call your 'manliness' goodbye." Sakura cackled, and Tomoyo glared as she watched the man shrink away, grumbling.

"Hurray to Evil Tomoyo!" Sakura cheered, and raised her empty glass towards Tomoyo's face, almost smacking her nose. The dark-haired girl pushed her hand down forcefully and looked at Sakura in the eye.

"Break up with him, Sakura, he's no good."

Sakura raised an eyebrow, and sighed as she released her bottle and leaned back against her small stool. "I don't know."

Suddenly, she threw her purse onto the table and searched through it, taking out a small leather notebook in the process. "Then, Tomoyo, help me find another man. I've got a bunch of numbers from friends who introduced me to-"

"Like hell I will."

Sakura glared.

"Daidouji-san?" A polite voice suddenly asked, though barely audible through the loud sounds of the room. Tomoyo turned her head.

"Hiiragizawa-san!" Tomoyo exclaimed, smiling politely. "What brings you here?"

"Same to you," the man inquired, giving her a curious stare through his glasses. "You don't seem like the kind of person who would appear in a condition like this. I'm just meeting up with an old friend, but it doesn't seem like he's here, yet."

"I see," Tomoyo nodded, then gave a sneak of a look at Sakura who was back into her gloomy state. "My best friend is going through a relationship crisis."

The man looked at Sakura, raising an eyebrow at her before returning his attention back to Tomoyo quite comfortingly. "I see," he nodded, then straightened up and walked to the other side of Sakura in long strides. "Miss?"

Sakura raised her head at the sound of his voice. "What?"

He chuckled, and sat down on the stool next to her as he gave her a charming smile. He extended a hand towards her, "Eriol Hiiragizawa, a co-worker of Daidouji-san there. You are?"

Sakura hesitantly shook his hand, a hopeful gleam in her eyes. She smiled back and gave a small laugh, "Kinomoto Sakura. 22. Currently working at an insurance company. _Single_."

Tomoyo slapped her forehead.

Eriol laughed before raising an eyebrow at her amusingly, tilting his head. "I see. Which is why you are currently downing yourself in alcohol to forget the stress put on you during your relationship crisis, I presume?" Sakura's smile immediately turned to a frown before she turned to Tomoyo and glared. Said girl smiled back at her cheekily.

"Don't worry, I know the feeling." Eriol said comfortingly, and started to reach out for something in his pocket. "Though I probably cannot give you the best service in this condition," he fished out a pen and eyed the leather notebook on the table, "I think I know someone who will. May I?"

Sakura gave him a curious look as she handed him her phonebook and Tomoyo gave Eriol a disapproving stare. He only winked at her, and opened the book to a page near the back and scribbled down a few letters. "I gave you my number, just in case," he said later, and handed Sakura her phonebook back. He nodded at Tomoyo. "I will see you on Monday, then, Daidouji-san."

"Tomoyo," she suddenly said, though her smile wasn't particularly pleasant. "And _yes_, I _will_ see you on monday."

Eriol gave out a slightly-frightened laugh before he nodded his head to Sakura and left. Sakura immediately dove into her book and flipped to the back, searching. "Li Syaoran. . ."

"So much for helping," Tomoyo suddenly muttered, crossing her arms on the table. "And here I thought he was going to come up with some brilliant plan of cheering you up-"

"-But he did!-"

"-_without_ having the idea of matchmaking you up with some random stranger."

Sakura smiled. "So?"

Tomoyo glared at her disapprovingly, then her eyes suddenly widened in curiosity when she pulled the phonebook towards her and looked at the page. "Why do you have Siaolu's number on here? Don't you have it on your phone?"

Sakura sent her a skeptical look. "Tomoyo-chan, you _know_ I always delete other people's numbers when I'm mad at them."

Tomoyo's eyes narrowed. "Oh, yes, and you always forget them. We've been friends for _years_ and yet you _still_ don't know my number."

Sakura laughed.

"I'm gonna have to go," Tomoyo said, pushing her empty glass away. "As much as I _love_ the torturous experience of listening you go on about your relationship with the horrible, disgusting little man, I have to work on a design stuck in my mind for the past 8 hours." Tomoyo called for a waiter and handed him some tip and money. She then blew a kiss to Sakura and waved. "Love ya, sis!"

"Sis, my ass, we're cousins." Sakura muttered irritably, but waved goodbye to her friend affectionately, nonetheless.

* * *

"I. Cannot. Believe. This."

Stomping into her apartment, she shut the door forcefully and threw her bag on the table, fuming. She then stood there, glaring at her purse, steam blowing out of her ears for what seemed like hours, before she finally decided to stop assaulting her bag and dug out her phonebook and ran into her room.

Sakura sat on her bed and huffed, crossing her legs before she opened her phonebook and flipped to the page where her ex-boyfriend's number was currently kept. Yes, _ex_, since it seemed that Sakura had found him kissing this other blonde outside of his apartment when she had -coincidentally; BY COINCIDENCE, GOD DAMN IT!- drove by his place, then walked in through the door together as if she wasn't there. Which, technically speaking, she wasn't to them, but that doesn't mean that they could just leave her there with her mouth open like a huge idiot, sitting in her car, torn between cursing the life out of him and stomp into his apartment or crying like a baby in the middle of a friggin street! Sakura, being the smart girl that she was -though she forgot the point that she had been _willing_ do date that son of a. . . never mind- decided to drive back to her place, half-drunk –Tomoyo's going to be so proud–, and be ready to scream the life outta that jerk-of-a-person she used to call a boyfriend.

Oh, yes, technology, the best thing for her to break up with a cheating boyfriend. How wonderful. Where were your guts, Sakura?

She punched the number into her cellphone, her nails making clicking sounds on the plastic. Listening to it ring for three times -oh, too busy, huh?-, she finally blew up when the other line clicked, and a deep voice answered into the phone with a "Hello?"

"You. Little. Son of a bitch!"

". . . _Huh_?"

"Don't you 'huh' me, you jerk! I don't care if you have excuses for cheating on your loyal girlfriend. I mean, just because I didn't have sex with you, doesn't mean you can go off to some other stupid blonde and kiss her in front of your apartment! What kind of freak are you? I've seen a lot of movies about this, and I really cannot believe that I would actually meet a cheating jerk like you!"

"Wait, hold on-"

"I'm not ASKING FOR AN EXCUSE SO SHUT UP! I mean, you could've easily just said you wanted a sex toy and get things over with, you asshole! And what, you had to wait just to break my friggin heart? Well, congratulations you dick, you won! But let me tell you one thing: Me, Kinomoto Sakura, am not that easily corruptible, even in the hands of a jerk like you, Lee Siaolu, who is possibly the biggest asshole there is on earth!"

"Oi, will you just-"

"Goodbye!"

Sakura shut her phone forcefully and threw it onto her pillow, fuming. Now, most girls in the movies would've just cried their eyes out after that, but instead, Sakura just felt anger. Horrible, disgusting, boiling anger. She took an eraser from her table, and leaned over to erase her ex's number–

Before she realized that was not the number she just dialed.

Eyes widening, she paused over the book –which was actually quite a sight, seeing a young woman leaning over a small book with both her arms raised and staring at the object with horrified eyes–, and sat there for a few agonizing seconds before she opened her cellphone again and checked the number she just dialed. No, that wasn't Siaolu's number. That wasn't her ex's friggin number. She then looked back to her phonebook, terrified, and realized she had just dialed Li Syaoran's number.

She just broke up with a friggin stranger.

Ho-ly shit. . .

* * *

He sat there, blinking at the phone -which was currently beeping in speakers-, his mouth slightly agape and his expression twisted into utter confusion and shock. The whole room stared with him as well, a few of which were currently trying hard to keep their eyes from falling out of its sockets. Eriol dropped his pen and it fell on the polished table with a 'clink' before he shook out of his daze and tapped his best-friend on the shoulder.

"Syaoran?"

Said man immediately closed his mouth and cleared his throat.

The sudden sound woke everyone up, and they all straightened up in their positions or adjusted their ties in attempt to act casual. Syaoran ran a hand through his already-unruly hair, squeezing his eyes shut once as if trying to wake up from a strange dream. A really, _really_ strange and _awkward_ dream. It didn't work.

Damn.

Taking a deep breath, he clasped his hands together on the table in front of him and stared at the paper underneath, thinking. Now, if he hadn't called his employers into his office for a short meeting about a few paperworks here and there and the. . ._disturbing_ call hadn't occurred, he would've been a perfectly fine and handsome, and even _dignified_ man. But no, God just didn't really agree with him today. No, he didn't. In fact, he didn't even do anything when Syaoran woke up that morning late for an important meeting, spilt half his cup of coffee on his new shirt, forgot about the fact that he was supposed to meet his best mate at a bar in the afternoon, skipped dinner and now his stomach was quietly growling for attention, and just now having heard one of the most irritating break-up calls from a total _stranger_ he didn't know right in front of his co-workers.

Oh yeah, God must be enjoying himself up there.

Not that Syaoran knew if he really was. He wasn't even religious.

"Right," he suddenly said, his voice cracked from his still-in-shock throat, "um, that is all today. Just remember to have all the paperwork done by this Thursday. Clear?"

His employees just nodded, bowing to him politely before scattering out of the room so they wouldn't have to witness their beloved boss from throwing into a fit. After the heavy glass door closed with a 'snap', Syaoran shakily stood up from his leather seat and bowed his head, his body twitching.

Eriol's voice was quiet and hesitant as he reached out a hand of comfort, "Okay, Syaoran, before you get angry-"

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?"

Eriol sighed. So much for comforting.

* * *

_Awkward for a first chapter? Sorry, I'll try to improve._


	2. are actually not that bad

_Thank you for the reviews!_

_Disclaimer: CCS no mine. I do don't own it. CCS belong to some one else. _

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2**. . . . are actually not that bad. . .

Sakura wept. Tomoyo sighed. Sakura wept as Tomoyo sighed.

People who passed them gave them weird looks.

"Can you believe it, Tomoyo?" Sakura exclaimed, her chin on the coffee table and her arms crossed over her head. "I'm doomed. _Doomed_. I am _doomed_ for life. I am doomed, doomed, doomed, doomed, doomed-"

"Sakura, I get it, you're doomed for life for breaking up with a stranger. Can we move on?"

Sakura pouted. "A _hot_ stranger, Tomoyo; now I've got no chance with him. _And _I didn't even break up with Siaolu. This is _insane_."

"_Why_ didn't you break up with Siaolu, again?"

"Because! I was too angry and shocked! I mean, what if I accidentally called this. . . Li Syaoran again, huh? That would make things even worse! I cannot risk the chance of getting caught. . ." Sakura trailed off as she slid down her seat a bit further. "I'm doomed for life. Li Syaoran's going to kill himself. Then he's going to come and haunt me. And then I'll die." Tomoyo rolled her eyes. _That's nice_. Sakura reached out for Tomoyo and gripped her arm. "I love you Tomoyo. You can take all my belongings when I die."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes and pulled Sakura's hand off her arm, holding it and giving it a squeeze. "Sakura, calm down, he's not going to commit suicide and then haunt you," she took a deep breath. "Remind me _why_ I'm friends with you, again?"

Sakura glared at her best friend. "You're not _helping_."

"Just relax, okay? He might know that you weren't actually talking to him. You said 'Siaolu' didn't you?"

"Yes. _And_ I said my name. _My_ name. Kinomoto Sakura. My friggin', flippin', stupid name." Sakura's face suddenly brightened. "I know! I'll just change my name and run away from the country! And then I'll change my phone number. That way he'll never ever ever be able to reach me, and I'll never ever ever have to worry about losing my life to some weird and scary and out-of-the-blue murder!" Sakura did a fist-pump, almost punching an old woman passing by in the face. Of course, she was oblivious to it all. "I am a genius!"

Tomoyo palmed her face and sighed. "Yes. Yes you are." She then gave Sakura a weird look. "How do you know this Li Syaoran guy is hot, anyway?"

Sakura looked at Tomoyo as if she was dumb, which, right now, Tomoyo assumed she was. "Because the Eriol guy was hot! Hot guys always have hot friends, you know!"

Tomoyo nodded. "Uh-huh."

Sakura suddenly gasped dramatically, a hand wavering over her opened mouth. "Oh my god. What if he's gay? What if they're like, together, or something? That makes my chance of hooking up with the either of them even more slim!"

Tomoyo rolled her eyes and whacked Sakura upside down on the head. "Silly. Why would Hiiragizawa-san introduce him to you in the first place if they were together?"

Sakura nodded dumbly, and laughed sheepishly. "Right."

Tomoyo's phone suddenly rang, and she reached down to answer it. Sakura gloomily slid down her chair as she took a sip of her mocha. Tomoyo worried for the girl sometimes; she was acting too gloomy, lately. "Hello?"

Sakura stared as Tomoyo smiled shyly into the phone and propped her chin onto her palm and her elbow on the table. "Hey. . ." Sakura's eyes widened in slight disbelief. "Yes, um, I'm actually with a friend right now. . .Yes, here. Do you. . .? Really? Sure. . .That's fine. She needs some cheering up anyway."

Sakura glared at her, even though the dark-haired girl was too occupied to deal with the moody lady. An idiot could tell she was talking about her.

Tomoyo's face brightened up and fell . . .and brightened up again. She nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, I'll see you in a while. Bye!"

She ended the call.

"You have a boyfriend? A life? Since when did you have a life?"

Tomoyo glared at her best-friend.

"You're so nice," she said sarcastically, putting her phone away. "And yes, I do have a life. Deal with it. Ha."

Sakura rolled her eyes–

And broke down wailing again.

. . .

"I'm doomed. I'm doomed. I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm _doomed-_"

* * *

"I hate my life. I hate my life. I hate my life, hate my life, _hate_ my life-."

Eriol sighed as he put away his phone and looked at Syaoran with exasperation. "Syaoran, shut up. You're annoying."

Syaoran glared.

"You're not the one who just got humiliated a night earlier by receiving a stupid blackmailing-ish call in front of your own co-workers. And I had a bad day, okay? Deal with it, moron."

Eriol rolled his eyes.

"If I didn't have so much plans and things to do with my life, I would've killed myself, hanged my neck, die, and go haunt that girl who dared ruining my reputation."

. . .That's nice.

Eriol sighed dramatically, settling himself in a chair before Syaoran's expensive yet plain-looking worktable. Having just being promoted into the boss of one part of this huge insurance company a few days ago, Syaoran was just getting used to the life of having to deal with numerous amount of paperworks and meetings and employees and _people_.

And by 'people', he meant 'women'.

At age 25, Syaoran received his MBAs and immediately came to Japan to run the company owned by the Li Corporation. Well, this insurance company was just a beginning, seeing as it was smaller than many of the other businesses ran by his family. He knew how to speak four languages fluently, his family was beyond rich, and he played soccer and was responsible and was _beyond_ handsome. Just looking at him can actually make one drool.

Eriol backtracked, shaking his head. Ew. Ewww. Those were bad thoughts, seeing as he was straight _and_ was just mentally describing his own cousin as a handsome Greek God. Incest much?

He had his eyes for a woman already, for heaven's sake.

"Don't make such a big fuss about it," he interrupted Syaoran's rambling, and said man turned his head to send one of the most deadliest looks at him. "You're a man; you have to get through all of these things. Toughen up!"

"Yes, well, usually when I get a call from a woman it's about her wanting me to get in her pants." He leans back against his chair and sneered. "I'm not particularly a big fan of hearing a _special_ lady telling me I'm an asshole and then breaking up with me."

"She doesn't know who you are. Remember when she called you 'Siaolu'? She probably just dialed the wrong number." At this, he smirked. "Couldn't be surprised if it's _her_–"

"What!" Syaoran exclaimed, literally jumping in his chair and slammed his palms onto his table. "You know her? You know this persecutor? Who is she? Kinomoto What's-her-face? I should go sue her."

. . .As much of a man he really was, Syaoran was a total pussy when he became angry.

"You know, I really wish I wrote this down. Then I could make a whole movie about it and watch people laugh their asses off."

Syaoran glared again. "If you do, I'm _cutting_ them off before they could even laugh. Including yours."

Eriol rolled his eyes. "What? Are you having a bad day today, as well? Geesh, Syaoran, I feel bad for you."

Syaoran still had his palms on the table, frowning, before he relaxed a little and bowed down his head. "I'm just. . .disturbed. Very disturbed. And I want to go home and get some sleep. The only reason I'm still here is because my sisters are at my place. . ." he cringed, "and they're still mad."

"So you're not having a bad day?"

Syaoran lifted his head and did a small shrug, standing up. "I sure hope not," he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair. As he sat back down, his hand hit the fresh cup of hot coffee on the table and knocked it on his lap.

Eriol eyes widened as Syaoran immediately seethed.

"THE FUCK!'

* * *

"I'm calling Siaolu for you."

Sakura eyes widened as she screamed and jumped towards Tomoyo and knocked them both onto the ground, hands grabbing and tearing until Tomoyo cried and promised that she'd never butt into her business ever again.

. . .No, Sakura didn't. But she was extremely tempted to.

"You need to make a move!" Tomoyo countered, waving her hand sternly as Sakura reached over to grab her phonebook from the wiser girl's hands. "I mean, you've always been too nice, and if he suddenly comes to you some day and ask you to sleep with him again, you might actually give in to him if you get moved." Tomoyo frowned at her. "I'm doing this for your own good."

"But I don't want to! I'm not ready."

"Then when will you be?"

Sakura shrugged nervously with her shoulders and hands. "I-I don't know. Tomorrow? The day after? Next year. . .?"

Tomoyo glared disapprovingly.

"You know what, fine. I don't need to call him."

Sakura blinked at her confusingly.

The bell of the door rang, and a man clad in a white sweatshirt and black jeans stepped into the room, his short blonde hair tousled from the wind. Sakura looked at Tomoyo with wide eyes while said girl looked back at her smugly.

"I blackmailed him with a text."

. . .

. . .Excuse Sakura as she picked up her jaw from the floor in horror.

"You did what?" she hissed, pulling the both of them further down into their seats as the man looked at around albeit nervously. "I told you, I'm not ready!"

"You're going to have to do it sooner or later." Tomoyo shrugged, and Sakura was more than tempted to hit her in her pretty face. In fact, she should just hit her in the face, right now. Smack her hard! That'll teach her a lesson to never mess into her own bloody business ever again–

". . .Sakura?"

. . .Curse Tomoyo's abnormal strength for pushing her out of her seat and sending her onto the floor. God, this was both horrifying _and_ embarrassing.

Well, at least Siaolu acted like a gentleman and lifted her up.

"Hey, Siaolu," she murmured, looking at the ground. Almost right next to her, Tomoyo shooed her with her hand as if asking her to _get it over with_. Sakura gulped.

"Your friend texted me, and, uh, threatened me to come over here or else she's gonna come over to my apartment tonight and stab me with a knife." Siaolu scratched his neck. "She's joking, right?"

Sakura nodded and laughed sheepishly, wrapping her arms around herself. "Yeah, sorry, she's kinda a creep."

_Heh, that's right', in your face, woman!_

"I have no idea how she got my number," the blond boy mumbled, "but is there something you need to talk to me about?"

Sakura stared at him, hard, and he stared back. She could almost hear Tomoyo mentally screaming to her and ordering her to, "Say it, Sakura, you idiotic moron! You chicken without any guts!"

Well, Tomoyo was too poised to actually do that.

"I do have something to tell you," she said, taking a deep breath. He blinked at her, almost innocently, tilting his head to the side. Aww, how cute.

She shook her head mentally. Psh, college guys are always cute. . .

Did she mention that he was a year younger than her?

"I saw you yesterday," she started, narrowing her eyes at him steadily. "I saw you with that blonde chick at your apartment yesterday afternoon."

Siaolu's eyes widened.

"And I also saw you kissing her!" She continued, just as he opened his mouth to counter. "I don't care if you say something about her being a partner in a project, or something, I know it's not true."

Siaolu actually looked at her guiltily and closed his mouth.

"Let's just stop here. I don't think I want to be with someone who just uses me as some physical pleasure and fun." she shook her head. "No, I don't think, I _know_."

People around them were staring, and Sakura didn't notice two more figures at the café door. She could feel Tomoyo's proud beam radiating off her body.

Siaolu finally took a step back and nodded. "I'm sorry."

Sakura nodded back, crossing her arms and suddenly feeling very dominant. She smiled sweetly at him, almost sickening sweet. "Also," she said as he raised his up to meet her gaze, "if you dare cheat on any girl in your future life, I'll make sure I'll come hunt you down with my best friend here and actually stab you in your sleep. 'K?"

Tomoyo cackled quietly in her seat.

Siaolu's eyes widened, and he backed out of the room and around the two people gathered there. Sakura exhaled loudly and dropped her arms.

Tomoyo clapped and pulled her down into her seat, beaming. "I love you, Sakura! I'm so proud of you!" she gathered Sakura in a breath-taking embrace.

And when Sakura meant breath-taking, she meant it literally.

She wheezed weakly as she tried to pry her off her body, gripping for the dark-haired girl's arms. "Bleh––bleh–To–moyo!"

Two hands gripped onto her friend's shoulders just as she was about to collapse and pulled her away.

Fresh water was offered to her a moment later, and Sakura thanked the person silently as she took huge amount of gulps from the glass. She felt dizzy, and _very_ dehydrated, and was still trying to return her breathing back to normal.

She loved Tomoyo, really, but she swore her best-friend was plotting to kill her, or something.

"Yeah, we get it; we get it, Tomoyo, stop it." a voice muttered, his form hazy in front of her and next to her friend – who was currently babbling-slash-cackling away. "Tomoyo, seriously, you're scaring the kid behind us. Oh, look, now he's crying."

Sakura sighed and rubbed her head. How could someone as graceful and kind as Tomoyo have an alter ego that's so brash, bold, and so. . .weird? Seriously, she should go and get her checked, or something.

"You okay?" a deep voice rumbled beside her, and she turned her head to meet the most beautiful dark-amber eyes. Her eyes widened. "Or are you, like, sent into an open-eyed coma? 'Cuz that happened to my cousin once, and it was freaky."

Sakura would've laughed at his comforting humor, but she was too distracted to do so. The man in front of her was absolutely gorgeous. _Gorgeous_ as in _stunningly_ gorgeous, with a strong jaw, high cheek-bones, sharp nose, and deep, penetrating eyes.

Yup, whatever he was saying about a coma, she was definitely going through it.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was just staring at her in concern. The strange girl with bright-green eyes so clear in her wide-opened lids, and her lips parted like she was trying to catch her breath, was staring at him like he'd just grown another handsome head. She's quite pretty, he admitted, but she's. . .really strange.

. . .And she's starting to freak him out.

He was tempted to rake his hand through his hair as his ego suddenly swelled. Oh yeah, his greek god-like look was putting itself in use again. Heh.

Two slender fingers suddenly snapped themselves in front of him and Sakura.

"Sorry, dear, you know how I can get carried away."

Sakura's head whipped around as she glared.

"Well, now that that's settled, I have to admit that I admire your boldness, Miss." Eriol suddenly said, smiling at Sakura. Her eyes widened in recognition.

" Hiiragizawa-san!" she exclaimed, before she slouched back in embarrassment. "Hi."

"Nice seeing you here, too." he chuckled, one eyebrow quirked up. "Looks like you've entertained yourself quite well."

"We have," Tomoyo agreed, then sighed dramatically. "My, my, how eventful one day could be. Well, if you spent more time with _her_ here," Sakura glared, "you'll realize that _everyday_ is colorful."

Eriol laughed.

And Syaoran coughed.

"Oh, yes, I'm being too rude." Eriol suddenly said, clearing his throat and smiled pleasantly. "This is my best-friend slash cousin, here. He's a workaholic, and was spending too much time enclosed in his office. Or, um, he was just too scared to come out. . ." At this, Syaoran glared, and Eriol suddenly gave Sakura an amused look, much to her confusion. "I'm sure you two can introduce yourselves, right?"

Both nodded, and turned their bodies in their seats to look at each other. They raised their hands, but they were on the wrong side. They changed it, and ended up on the same side again. Finally, Sakura laughed sheepishly and Syaoran smirked, clasping each others hands correctly.

"Hello-" Syaoran said.

"Hi-" Sakura said, as well.

. . .

Eriol and Tomoyo blinked.

"My name is-"

"I'm-"

. . .

Well, this was awkward.

They both cleared their throats.

"Um. . ."

"Uh. . ."

. . .

Eriol and Tomoyo leaned forward. And. . .?

The two sighed, and placed a pleasant smile on their faces. Sakura's heart jumped a beat at the action. They both opened their mouths, and-

"My name is Li Syaoran-"

"I'm Kinomoto Sakura-"

. . .

. . .

. ! . ! . !

-insert more dot dot dots and exclamation points here-

Syaoran and Sakura blinked. Tomoyo blinked. Eriol smiled evilly.

The two were still connected by the hands, and they bolted up form their seats to look at each other incredulously. Well, to be correct, they were looking at each other quite terrifyingly.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Eriol sighed rather contently in his seat and spread his arms back. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

_And they were kicked out of the café! The end!_

_No, just kidding. But they probably would be kicked out of the café for yelling that out loud, though. Beside a little kid, nonetheless._

_Anyways, thank for such kind reviews in the last chapter. I really appreciated it. After all, it's the readers' support that make us writers feel inspired to entertain them. Thank you, and I'll be back soon. Hopefully. :) _


	3. because after it

_This update was so incredibly late. I'm honestly so sorry. Hopefully the events will make up for it._

_I also give my best wishes to Japan, the most incredibly recourse of our beloved anime and other products. I send them all my love._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Cardcaptor Sakura and I never will._

* * *

**3.** . . .because after it. . .

"I should just get rid of the stupid phonebook." Sakura mumbled as she leaned back against her friend's desk. Rika looked up from her computer and smiled at her sympathetically. "I mean, all it's been doing lately is bringing me bad fortune. Li is completely pissed with me right now."

"Oh? You two are in last name basis?" the older girl teased, crossing her arms while she looked up at Sakura with a silly smile. "You two are much closer than I thought you would be."

Sakura rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Please. After the two of us realized who each other was, he glared at me the rest of the afternoon, and I felt like he was ready to grow fangs and claws and attack me, or something." At this, she leaned down slightly. "Even though he would be a pretty hot predator."

"Kinomoto-san," an older woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and Sakura jumped at her baritone. "Shizuke-san would like to speak to you in her office after lunch break."

"About. . .?" Sakura prodded a bit further of her own manager, silently hoping the lady wouldn't get angry at her and growl. Instead, the woman just looked impassive.

"About your new boss, of course."

* * *

"I've got a new boss?" Sakura muttered under breath incredulously, walking down the empty hallway to the elevator so she could go to the cafeteria and feed her complaining stomach. "Hope it's not some hairy old man, again," she remembered her second boss, cringing at the memory of his crooked smiles. Strangely enough, the part of the company she'd been working in for a year now changed heads practically every month. Well, not _every_ month, but wasn't four in a year a bit too over the top? She sighed and looked down at her skirt.

She really didn't want to be here, but she also didn't have a choice.

The elevator dinged seconds after she pressed the button, and she tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for the door to open. She took a deep breath as the metal doors separated, but rather than letting it go, she held it unconsciously and stared.

In the elevator stood a very irritated-looking Syaoran, tugging at his sleeve. When he looked up and met her gaze, his eyes narrowed even more.

"What. The hell."

Sakura would've dropped her jaw at his deadly and rude tone if she weren't so. . . horrified.

"You work here?" they both asked in union, after Sakura decided to let go of her breath and take a new one so she wouldn't collapse.

"I do," she replied after a moment of awkward silence. She blinked when Syaoran suddenly stopped glaring and instead sneered, crossing his arms and leaning back against the metal walls.

"Well this is going to be interesting."

The doors began to close, and Sakura immediately jumped in as a reflex, silently cursing when she realized the grave mistake she'd made. She worked on the 7th floor, and it seemed that Syaoran had come from an even higher story, seeing as he was waiting to go the the main lobby, as well. She took a deep breath and stepped to the other side of the small closing, hoping to keep as far away from his as possible. It'll be all right, as long as they didn't talk. If she didn't piss him off, she might even walk out of the elevator alive. She looked up at the slowly descending numbers, slightly despaired that the elevator didn't stop and new people would walk in and could distance herself from him even further.

_Hurry up and get down,_ she thought to herself, heart racing in anxiousness, _you stinking elevator. Hurry up and get the hell down!_

The elevator suddenly stopped, and the space rumbled.

_. . . Are you _serious_?_

"Oh my god," she groaned, leaning back against the wall and covering her face. "This is just like a horror movie." _And so cliché._

"No kidding," Syaoran surprised her by agreeing, and he walked over to press the emergency button.

It sounded, but Sakura highly doubted any people would be able to help them within the next five minutes.

"This is bad," she mumbled underneath her breath, dramatically dragging her fingers down her face so her skin would stretch, making a face. Syaoran stared at her. "This is bad. Really, really bad. I hate this building."

"I get it now," Syaoran said, though not snappy. He looked at his cellphone. "So there is signal," he said, and dialed something before he held the electronic to his ear. Sakura looked at him hopefully, but he frowned after a few seconds.

"No one's picking up?" she voiced out his thoughts. He looked at her for a second before turning away. "A phone could actually work in this freakin' place -which would _not_ happen in a movie- but there's still no one picking up?"

He gave her a quick look to shut up, then he took the mechanic off his ear and dialed again. "Stupid people," he muttered under his breath, "I should fire them."

"What?" Sakura suddenly asked, startled. Syaoran gave her an unreadable look before he smirked arrogantly, taking her off guard with a completely random question.

"So, how do you like this place?"

She blinked at him, wondering what the hell was wrong with his head. One second, he's scaring the piss out of her, making her think that he was going to throw her into a wall and bang her head or something, and now he's actually starting a civilized conversation with her? "It's. . . okay," she finally managed to croak out.

He nodded, "Do you like your boss?"

"Um, I guess?" she slouched back as she watched him dial again. "She's decent. Tolerable. And I was supposed to meet her right after my lunch break."

"Is that so?" He sounded truly intrigued, raising his eyebrows. "What for?"

"I, uh," Sakura looked at her arms, confused, "apparently have a new boss."

Syaoran snickered.

"What?" she repeated, furrowing her brows. "Why are you even asking?"

He stared at her, tapping a finger against one of his crossed arms before looking around nonchalantly. "A boss's impression is very important to their co-workers and job," he finally replied, and gave up as he pocketed his blackberry. The screen became black as he clicked a button on the top. "Not only is it important to the boss himself, but it's also important for the employees. I know too many people who complain about their managers, and, even if they are good at what they're doing, they never end out great. I suggest you get close to your new boss and make a good first impression, otherwise you will be screwed." He smirked, "And I'm pretty sure you're good at making impressions."

Sakura blushed uncontrollably and looked away, pouting slightly. She scanned across the elevator, sighing, and, for the first time, realized that it didn't have an cameras. She then looked at Syaoran from the corner of her eyes, and he was staring casually ahead. If only she had the guts to-

"What happened between you and your ex?"

"Huh?" Sakura dumbly replied, startled at his chivalry once more. Well, she couldn't exactly consider it to be _chivalry_, but it was polite, and Sakura wasn't sure if he still had that trait in him since he practically hated her. She took a sharp breath, "Uh, he, um, he cheated on me."

He smirked again, "Thought so."

"What!"

"You threatened to chop him into pieces if he did, didn't you?" He leaned his head back against the wall. "And I have to say that it would be a pretty interesting scene."

"Sure, you could totally imagine me as a serial killer, scaring little kids in their sleep and tearing people's throats apart. 'Cause I'm that scary. Roar."

Syaoran actually laughed.

She was surprised at how easy it really was to talk with him, and was surprised even more when he actually gave her advice on how to treat her boss so she would be far from the brink of getting fired and become unemployed.

"And remember, never raise your voice at them, no matter infuriating they could be. Patience is virtue, really. You don't want to anger a person who has full power over you." at Sakura's raised eyebrow, he added, "Maybe not _full _power, but you have the idea. Also, never be fooled by their appearance. It's the worst." He slouched back against the wall lazily but his look made him seem like a hungry serpent. "Got it?"

"So, basically, when I meet this new boss, you want me to act like I am the sweetest little girl there is and make a candy-like first impression?" Syaoran looked thoughtful, then he nodded. "That shouldn't be hard. I took drama in high school."

"Yes, that would put itself in great use," Syaoran muttered sarcastically, and pulled on the hem of his sleeve. Sakura suddenly looked closer at him, and it seemed that his expression looked more or less mischievous. He suddenly turned his head and grinned at her, "I also suggest you not stare at your new boss, even if he is as hot as me. You might plant an misinformed assumption in their head."

Sakura almost gaped.

She watched as he looked down at his watch and made an annoyed sound before crossing his arms ago. Mimicking his actions, she looked down at her own watch and gasped, realizing that her lunch break was already over and that she would be late with her meeting with her boss. She cursed.

"Don't worry, I'll go with you, and explain to them what's happened here so you won't get in trouble for being so late."

Sakura already raised a questioning eyebrow at him before the door suddenly clanked and was dragged opened. Great, cliché-ness again. There always had to be an interruption in the middle of an important thing. She rolled her eyes and let her question go.

"I am so sorry, sir," a man in an orange suit apologized, tipping his plastic white hat. He looked like a construction worker of some sort, and she will never know why a guy like him would be here. Syaoran grunted.

"The other elevators are working fine?"

"The one across from the hall is. We don't know how it happened, but it seems that there was a loose chain that pulled these two elevators together from the top," he waved his hand to the right outside before pointing to the ceiling. "We'll try to solve the solution as fast as possible."

"Make it quick," Syaoran ordered, and Sakura gave him a look that said 'What the hell made you think _you're _the boss?' He walked out of the elevator and turned back to give her a look.

"I thought you were late."

Sakura nodded and scurried out of the space, nodding her head at the worker as she passed by. She caught Syaoran's footsteps and stared, still walking.

"Why is he listening to you?" Syaoran shrugged.

"He works here, and I was held captive in that thing for over 20 minutes. Of course I can boss him around." Something in his tone told her he was lying, but Sakura didn't get a chance to prod on further before she was dragged into a more cramped elevator across the one she just came out of, and the doors closed.

She hadn't gotten a chance to ask him why he was here yet, she remembered, and she looked to her left where Syaoran was currently standing. However, the next floor came too quick, and she was pushed to the side as people rushed out of the elevator and more rushed in. Soon, Syaoran was on the other side, and people were squished in between their distance. She sighed and decided to let it go, again.

10 floors later, the door finally opened to her stop and many people rushed out of the small, enclosed space which was already less than half-empty. Sakura looked at her watch and rushed to catch up with Syaoran's long strides, already seeing her boss's door. She smiled when Rika walked out.

Rika, however, looked troubled, and when she lifted her head to see both Syaoran and Sakura walking her way, her eyes widened even more in recognition and horror. She looked at Sakura with a quizzical expression.

Sakura, thinking that Rika was wondering what the hell she was doing with the guy she called an asshole not an hour before pointed at Syaoran and shrugged. Rika suddenly shook her head.

Before Sakura could stop to ask her friend what happened, she was dragged into her boss's office by the arm, and her manager looked up at them, first angry, then surprised. She sent them -or rather, Syaoran- a big smile and clasped her hands on top of her desk.

"Li-san! I'm surprised to see you here with Kinomoto," she exclaimed, and Sakura glared at her lack of politeness towards herself. Syaoran let go of her and nodded.

"We bumped into each other in the elevator, and it was stuck for almost half and hour."

"Yes, I've heard, and I was slightly worried about Sakura here," she faked a frown and looked at Sakura, who was ready to swear a number of infelicitous swear words at the older woman. "I'm guessing that I won't need to introduce you to her?"

Sakura looked at her boss in confusion before turning to her companion. Syaoran, however, was smirking. "It'd be nice if there'd be a proper introduction," he said, and Sakura quirked an eyebrow. Her boss nodded to them, gesturing for them to sit down. Syaoran complied, and Sakura followed, and she gracefully sat down with her legs crossed on the soft cushions. She waited for her manager to continue.

The woman smiled and leaned back against her chair, raising a palm towards the only man in the room. "Sakura, I would like you to meet Li Syaoran, this company's new boss." Sakura blinked.

. . . What?

"_And_, more good news for you, you have been promoted into his own personal assistant, where you could take the office a bit down the hall and work with him at all times."

Sakura actually stood up, and looked at her current boss in a combination of shock and horror. She could feel the smug smirk on Syaoran's face, and she clenched her hands into fists at her sides, blood pouring up her neck and through her face. She screamed.

"WHAT!"

* * *

"He knew! He _knew_! He _knew_ he was going to be my new boss; he _knew_ I was going to be his _personal manager_ and work with him at _all times,_ and he actually _gave me advice_ on how to treat _him_!" Sakura tried to catch her breath, ignoring the looks she was currently receiving from her co-workers and stared at Rika. Said girl looked slightly petrified. "I mean, who even _does_ that in these days? That's just too cruel. He knew! And look!" She shoved a paper in front of Rika's face and the woman yelped in response. "I only stepped into his office with him for one second and he already gave me paperwork. Already. Gave. Me. Paperwork. He even sent me out to get him some coffee!" Sakura gestured at the Starbucks cup on the table beside her, eyes unbelievably wide. "What kind of person does that, huh? What kind of freakin' person does that!"

"Sakura, Sakura, calm down," Rika warned, placing a hand on Sakura's knee as said woman dramatically took in and breathed out air, waving her hand in cross of her face. "He's just your new boss, it'll be fine. I mean, he doesn't seem like a bad guy."

"Yeah, well, he _hates_ me." Sakura hesitated for the millionth of a second, suddenly remembering their conversations in the elevator. "I bet he's probably thinking of millions of ways to torment me, now that I'm his personal _assistant_. I mean, in work language, I'm basically his own _slave_!"

Rika actually rolled her eyes, despite the fact that she had always been incredibly mature.

"I mean, he acted all nice and gentleman-like and all that chivalry crap before, but now I know it's just been a trap! A trap! He's going to torture me!"

"Sakura!" another one of her co-workers hissed across the room, and waved her hand frantically, gesturing for Sakura to go over. "Do you _want_ to be late for your first meeting with your new boss?"

"It's not going to be my first-!" Sakura started, but cut off her screaming and instead cleared her throat and took a calming breath before she looked back down at her friend. She was frowning. "When you get the chance to call Tomoyo, tell her I love her. Please." She took her boss's coffee, stood and prepared to leave, but leaned back in at the last moment. "Oh! And I love you, too!" With that, she disappeared.

As the sight of Syaoran's own office -which was only a few doors down her old boss's, who was currently at the door yelling at her soon-to-be-gone assistant about moving her things out of the room-, Sakura actually gulped and pulled on the edges of her suit, making them tighter around her body. The door suddenly bursted open, however, when a woman with impossibly black hair and blue eyes stormed out of the room, glaring at her. Sakura blinked a couple of times as the woman humphed and stomped down the hallway in her high, black stilettos. She sent an incredulous look at the lady's disappearing figure before making her way into Syaoran's office.

Even though he claimed to have only been there for a weekend and one day, it already looked like he'd been there for a month. There were books on the full shelf, plants and pictures placed around the room neatly, and he was swirling in his leather chair from side to side, looking thoughtful. He smirked at her when their gazes met, and he set both his arms on the arm-rests of his seat, his face adorned with a sly look.

"Like your new office?"

"I haven't seen it yet," she bit out, wanting to point out the fact that she had just been ordered to buy him coffee outside the building itself and never even had a chance to return to her cramped workspace before she threw a tantrum at Rika. She turned to look at the door before nodding her heads towards it instead, staring at him now. "What was that all about?"

"Hamori Rina. She was just visiting."

Sakura walked over to him and smirked. "Girlfriend drama?"

"Ex," he corrected, before adjusting his pose so he could look up at her more freely. He suddenly looked like he was thinking. "Not even an ex-girlfriend, really."

"A one-night stand."

"Perhaps," he said, grinning. Sakura was at the side of his desk now, quite close to where he was seated, in fact. He gave her a hard and piercing stare. "Why? Jealous?"

"You wish," Sakura snorted, flipping her hair back.

Syaoran looked at the cup in her hands. "Mine?"

Sakura ignored him, "And what's with the problem between you and her, again?"

"None of your business. Give me the coffee."

"She wants to get back with you?"

"I know you want to get in my pants, but all _I_ want right now is the coffee. Give it to me, Kinomoto."

"I bet she realized that all you want is to get laid and that you have no actual goal in life."

"Don't bullshit me, Kinomoto. You're making this more difficult than it really is."

"It's nice that people finally see you as the jerk you are, Li."

Syaoran smirked. "Not the way to talk to your boss, assistant."

"Well, you _are_ a jerk."

"And you are easy."

Sakura's eyes widened, and she actually looked offended. "What?"

"Give me the goddamn coffee and go to your office to finish the work I just gave you." he said, looking impatient.

Sakura, however, just looked pissed. She leaned forward, unaware that her position gave him a pretty good view of her cleavage and that he was actually looking at it. His eyes didn't stay down for long before Sakura made an irritated sound with her teeth. "You wish," she repeated, and promptly pushed the cup's lid aside with her thumb and dumped half of the warm liquid on Syaoran's shirt and lap.

Syaoran almost gasped, but his eyes only widened for a second before he raised his gaze at her to send the most deadliest look anyone would've ever given. He gritted his teeth, and grabbed her wrist harshly, though she didn't even bulge. "The company's record this week is on the shelf," he said, his voice incredibly deep. "I was planning to look over it and take some notes, but how about I just be the nice boss I am and give the work to you instead?"

* * *

_In my opinion, both Syaoran and Sakura are way to OOC, but that's okay, right? Somehow, I can't really write either of them in-character. It's really hard._

_Either way, I hope you still enjoyed it! If I made any mistakes or need any improvement, please do tell me so I can make this story better._


	4. you will find a better guy

_I am so incredibly sorry for this extremely late update. I just didn't have the spirit to write this chapter until now, so, here you go! Hope my readers can forgive me. -crosses fingers-_

_Disclaimer: Yes, I own CCS. Yes, I can fly. And yes, I own a purple-pink unicorn with spotted black fur, and two pairs of goat horn grows out from its butt. Gorgeous, no?_

* * *

**4**. . . . you will find a better guy. . .

"Finish this by eleven, and I'll treat you lunch."

Sakura looked up from her desk and raised an eyebrow. "Nice to see you, too."

Syaoran sighed impatiently, and looked down at his watch as if anticipating for something. Sakura took this chance to glance at what he'd delivered to her, and was relieved to only find a few sheets of paper about writing emails for him to some other companies. That was easy work for her, considering the emails don't have to be necessarily long, and they were just thank-yous or nice-to-work-with-yous. She grinned when he couldn't see.

"And there's a meeting in fifteen minutes," he suddenly said, and looked down at her. "You didn't forget, did you?"

Silently, Sakura rolled back her chair and pointed to a calendar hanging on the wall behind her, with Syaoran's handwriting printing in big red letters, "IMPORTANT FACULTY MEETING AT 10:30" on today's date. She was glaring at him, considering the fact that his words had taken up three spaces on the calendar, while he merely smirked back smugly.

"Good, so you didn't. And did I mention that another company's coming?"

Sakura scowled slightly, and crossed her arms. "I reckoned."

"And you're learning," he added in, and promptly turned on his heals to enter his office. Sakura sighed as she looked up at the clock on another wall, and slowly stood up to adjust her outfit as Syaoran walked back out, carrying a folder with him. Wordlessly, Sakura took it grimly and glanced at him. She then pointed to his tie.

"It's crooked."

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed again. "Yeah, sure."

"It's crooked," she repeated, and stepped forward to adjust it for him. He gagged when he pulled too tight. "My bad," she said cheekily, obviously had done it one purpose, and gave him a pat on the chest -more like a _shove_- before stepping back. "Okay."

Looking as if he wanted to growl, Syaoran merely walked pass her to the other door that led them to the hallway. She followed him, waving to a few co-workers as she passed them, having gone use to the fact that she did this almost every consecutive day after working for Syaoran for almost two weeks now. They entered a big room with a long, polished table settled in the middle, and over fifteen men were gathered on both sides of it, hands clasped and professional, with their secretaries standing behind them holding notebooks and pens in their hands. They were last again, Sakura thought, coming to a stop as Syaoran stepped in front of his chair between the table, which was at the head of desk and in front of a white screen. They weren't late, per se, all the others were simply early.

"Thank you for coming," he started, bowing slightly. They all bowed back. "I assume your company is doing well?" he asked as they start to sit down, and he looked at the man next to him. Sakura recognized him as one of the managers of the Shodka Insurance company, slightly smaller compared to the Li Co. and closer to the outskirts of the city. The hostile man grunted.

"Not as good as yours," he replied, though not sounding particularly pleasant. Sakura fought back a swallow at the look he was sending to Syaoran.

"Due to the fact that it is winter," Syaoran continued, not looking at all disturbed by the man's antagonism, "there is an increase of car accidents and injuries in the cities, so more people are paying for insurance. And since it is a fact, we have been receiving a higher amount of income, but our stocks are also becoming unstable. Have you been keeping track of the mortgage you pay each month for your company?"

"To come out clear, I just want to point out that it's not necessarily _our_ company that's having an issue here," the other man said instead, and Sakura sent him a look. "We share our stocks, but because our companies are connected I've been receiving complaints about your service rather than our own. People say the Li Co. is taking in too much taxes, resulting into many debts."

"Debts are not part of this building's responsibility, Matsu-san," Syaoran replied coolly, leaning back against his seat. "Our bank takes care of that, not me. And I'm sure they're reasonable people; they don't get much benefit from running families or small businesses into bankruptcy, if I remember clearly that that's what causing most of the complaints."

"What about helping all people?" another man from the Shodka company inquired, obviously bitter to this subject as well. "Not to be rude, but this is quite bad service."

"Considering the fact that more people are complaining about your lack of insurance coverage over them, I honestly don't think it's us that's having the problems. As I said, debts and financial issues are not our full responsibility; however, people pay us to provide coverage for them, and I've heard that you do not provide that fully."

"There's too many people," Matsu said after a moment of silence, frowning slightly. "We cannot make sure that _everyone_ has the absolute best service – that's too much pressure on us."

"Then I don't see our own service as an issue."

The man narrowed his eyes.

"Your service is, quite bluntly speaking, tricking the customers into buying your insurance with an unreasonable amount of price," he continued, leaning forward in his chair. Sakura absentmindedly dropped her pen and it landed on the floor with a 'clink'. "Our service has not yet been criticized for that, so I don't see any reason, whatsoever, to. . ." he trailed off suddenly, and Syaoran stared patiently as he watched the man's gaze slowly trickle to the body behind him. Sakura had reached down to grab her pen, and too much of her cleavage was showing under her professional vest and white button-up shirt. "It's. . . not our problem. . . about, uh, yours."

Syaoran raised a questioning eyebrow, and continued to wait patiently. "Come again?"

"If, I may rudely interrupt," Sakura suddenly stood up and pointed the pen to the ceiling, causing Matsu to bolt in his chair and blink at her. "Having complaints about not providing _full_ service, as your commercials and papers have all said your company included, seems to be a bigger issue and impact to our stocks, rather than the people who don't use their own money wisely, and then blame their lack of money on us. We have a perfectly reasonable amount of money that we request from our customers, and, quite interestingly, we ourselves do not receive many criticism of our service on that. Perhaps, sir, you are confusing the issue with something else?"

The man simply gawked, and blinked, as Sakura, absentmindedly once more, started to scratch her slightly-exposed chest with the tip of her pen as if trying to cure an itch.

She could almost hear the whole room take in a deep breath at her actions.

"As my secretary so kindly pointed out," Syaoran continued after a long, pregnant pause, "I hope this subject will not be brought up again if it really is not a grand issue. Now I assume that there is nothing else you called this conference for?" He cocked his head slightly, smirking. "This _was_ what you called this meeting for, I assume?"

Matsu quickly shut his mouth, cleared his throat, and adjusted his tie before turning his head away in mortification and shock. Sakura simply stood behind Syaoran will a hand on her hip, and leaned her weight on one leg, smirking as well. To her -secret- surprise, he nodded. "Yes, um, no more. . . problems."

He quickly stood up, bowed, and the room was dismissed. After the people hurriedly scurried away, muttering under their breaths, Sakura turned to Syaoran.

"That was too quick for a meeting."

"I know."

"It was completely useless."

"I know."

"And stupid."

Syaoran sighed and rolled his eyes teasingly, before smirking at her again. "I know."

He stood up from his chair, and crossed his arms arrogantly as she patiently, and sweetly, looked up at him. "You did well," he said.

"Do I get an extra large lobster this time?"

Syaoran rolled his eyes again, much to her amusement, and not-so-gently clasped his hand on her shoulder. She almost winced. Almost.

"You pig."

Sakura's smile immediately turned into a scowl.

* * *

"So," Sakura drew out casually, tying a bib around her neck, "that man doesn't seem to particularly like you."

"No man particularly likes me," Syaoran responded, and Sakura had the sudden urge to pound him in the head – which she had done so many times already. "I mean, come on, look at me, I'm gorgeous."

"Not this again," she muttered, throwing her hand to her forehead. Syaoran smirked. "Seriously, you're soooo vain."

"Oh yes, that song. I've heard of it in English before; quite famous. You like it?"

Sakura glared at him darkly. "Vain. You. Are. Vain. I'm not talking about the American song."

"Sure, of course you're not."

Sakura felt another urge to bang her head against the table.

"The Shodka Insurance company," he said after a moment of silence, absentmindedly twirling his champaign on the table, "has always been a rival of us. We never had the closest of relationships."

"Their company's not as good as ours, right?" Sakura asked, and sipped on her Shirley Temple with a fancy straw. "I mean, our location is better, and our building's better, and we have more customers."

"Yes. We're more thriving."

"They're jealous."

He shrugged at her, making a face. "I suppose."

"Tch, sore losers." Sakura muttered under her breath, frowning. She immediately lit up, however, when their red, steaming lobsters arrived at their table. "Yes! It _is_ bigger than last time."

Syaoran chuckled amusingly, though somehow not losing his cold demeanor. He watched for the first few seconds as Sakura grasped her food but pulled away at the scorching heat, and went back again. Smirking, he broke off one of his lobster's claws with ease.

"So, how's life?" Sakura continued, and clipped off her pincer as she looked at him. "How's your family? I don't see you hanging out with your friends or family often."

"That's because you always manage to leave early everyday without me noticing," Syaoran replied, narrowing his eyes at her.

"At least I finish my job."

He sighed.

"But still, I don't go home _that_ early. At five or six, right? When do _you_ go home?"

He shrugged, and gave up fiddling with his food for a while as he leaned back. "Usually around eight. Sometimes around ten."

She rolled her eyes, "You're crazy."

"Am not."

"You even come on weekends!"

"So?"

"So, what? Is your office, like, a second home to you?"

"Something like that."

"Hiiragizawa-san comes often to invite you out for dinners, and stuff, but you never go. It's not healthy to be a workaholic."

"I've got nothing better to do."

"Oh please. You're young. You're rich. You can do whatever the heck you want."

"Are you implying something?"

"Yes. I'm saying you should loosen up a bit. Hang out with your friends and family more."

At this, he sighed, and closed his eyes as Sakura stared at him in slight shock. For a few moments, Syaoran did nothing, and Sakura was starting to get worried. "Li. . .?"

"My family," he said quietly, eyes still shut, "is complicated." He opened his eyes a crack. "I have four sisters, who all live in Hong Kong, as well as my mother. My father passed away when I was little, so it was huge pressure on the family to keep the businesses going. My father was also not the kindest of people."

Sakura cocked her head to the side, looking a bit worried. "How so?"

"He has the most crucial ways of dealing with rival companies. Not caring if they're not even a threat, he drives them into bankruptcy. To be honest, many families all over China don't have money because of how he ran the companies."

Sakura's eyes widened at each word, frowning even more as the words all sunk it. She crossed her arms, and stared down at her lobster. "That's horrible."

"It is," Syaoran agreed, closing his eyes again. "He also basically ran all the businesses by himself, because he did not want to share the profits. It's not only stressful for him, many branches of the Li Clan were not happy because of his actions. He was the eldest male of his generation, and before my grandparents passed away, they never knew their son would take all the wealth to himself. After he passed away, though, my mother just knew she couldn't run everything by herself, so she gave many of the companies to my cousins and sisters." He opened his eyes, and looked at her. "Most of the big businesses will still belong to me, though."

She sent him an uncertain look, still frowning. "So. . . is that good?"

He shrugged at her once more, and rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know. Many people held grudges against him, so I might be dragged into this."

"But you're not like him."

"Other people don't know that."

"That's bloody stupid," she said, and stuck out her lower lip as she looked at him. "That's not fair for you. You shouldn't be blamed for what your father did in the past."

"But it is the Li family's responsibility," he said seriously, narrowing his eyes. "I don't exactly have a choice. It is stupid, but I'm his son, so his problems are mine. I'll just have to fix them for him."

"How about your mother? Will she be in trouble?"

"She'll have to be. It's not necessarily her fault, but the whole Li clan is basically in trouble now, because they all play part in all the industries."

Sakura dropped her jaw in utter bemusement, and stuttered as she opened and closed her mouth like a fish. "That's just. . . just. . . pathetic. Absolutely ridiculous."

"I know." She couldn't see, but she thought he was rubbing his leg in frustration. "And now the clan's much more strict than it was before. We have rules for where we go, and have to report almost every news to each other. The elders can also tell us what to do. We're also being watched almost every moment."

Sakura stilled, before turning her head around nervously. "Um, that's–"

"Not now, stupid. They're not _that_ strict."

"Hey, do not call me stupid."

"So what about your family?" Syaoran quickly changed the subject, and finally started eating. The tension was almost completely relieved as Sakura moved her hand over her food, as well. "I'm tired of talking about mine."

"Well, I have an annoying older brother, a dad, and a mom. My mother passed away when I was little, though."

He swallowed his food and nodded at her. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"No, it's fine. Same goes for you, actually." Sakura smiled a little as she bit on a piece of meat. "My dad's a professor in Tomoeda, and my brother is an athlete. He sort of goes around and plays soccer, actually, so I don't really know where he is right now. Not that I care."

"You don't seem like a business type of person," Syaoran pointed out, and stuffed a chunk of lobster in his mouth with a fork. Sakura wondered why the hell he was using a fork for a lobster.

"I'm not. I'm actually a more athlete type of person, but I've always wanted to go to college. And I wanted to live in the city, so working in a company is the best I could do. There aren't that many job opportunities here, you know?"

"And we have the best pay, right?"

Sakura frowned and glared at him. "Shut up."

"Well you do seem quite fit," he suddenly said, and Sakura looked at him in surprise. "You could be a model."

"A-a model?" Sakura asked, and could not control the blush that rose on her cheeks. He smirked at her, and nodded once.

"Yeah. If, you know, the person who hired you is blind."

All of sudden, the fluttering and flattering feeling she had been experiencing flew out the window like a boxer punching a bird. She growled at him. "You-jerk—Shut up!"

She leaned forward, and mouthed to him, "F-you."

He smirked even more, and opened his arms. "I'm right here, baby."

Sakura spent the next few moments gawking at him.

* * *

"So? What do you think?" Tomoyo chirped, and clasped her hands a little too enthusiastically as she stared at Sakura with stars in her eyes. Sakura blinked at her for a moment before laughing nervously.

"I, um, love it. It's beautiful."

Beautiful was an understatement, actually, as the dress Tomoyo designed for her was absolutely gorgeous. It was light green, strapless, and was held together behind her back with numerous strands, so most of her backside was bare. It reached down to her ankles, and was practically plain silk that flowed freely around her with small silver embroideries stitched into the fabric as delicate designs. It was magnificent.

"Really? I'm glad you like it! I've worked on it for two weeks. . . remember? That time at the bar? This was the dress I thought of!"

Sakura smiled at her best friend, and gave her a tight hug before releasing her with a fond look. "Thank you, Tomoyo. I absolutely adore it. It's gorgeous."

"Aw, thanks Sakura," she suddenly paused and tilted her head to the side. "I didn't really interrupt your work, did I? Weren't you just finishing lunch?"

"Yes, I actually finished most of my work before eleven. We had a meeting, and I did all my work, and Li took me out for lunch, so it's not a big problem. I actually did him a huge favor at the conference, so he sorta owes me anyway."

"You two went out for lunch?" Tomoyo asked slowly, shock evident on her face. She started fiddling with Sakura's dress. "Since when?"

"It's just a boss-employee treat, no big deal. There's absolutely nothing going on between us."

"Is there. . . not?" Tomoyo sounded uncertain again, but Sakura didn't get to reply when a woman suddenly walked into the room and gasped in joy.

"Oh my, that is one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen!" She exclaimed happily, and walked over to the two women as Sakura blushed underneath her gaze. "And the girl's beautiful, too. Who is this, Tomoyo?"

"This is my best friend, Kinomoto Sakura. She is gorgeous, isn't she?" Sakura sent her a look and Tomoyo laughed. "And this is a friend of mine, Kobayashi Akemi. She's sort of the manager of this magazine company: Two-hundred Percent?"

Sakura gasped in recognition, and smiled at the woman with glee. "Yes, I love that magazine! You have the best fashion tips ever! But you're so young."

Akemi laughed, and flipped back her marvelous red hair as she nodded at Sakura. "Yes, I'm actually like Tomoyo here. My mother used to run the business, and now I am." She suddenly paused, and looked between the two with uncertainty. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Oh no, it's nothing," Tomoyo said, smiling at Sakura. "I kinda brought her here to look at a few more dresses I'm working on right now. So you gotta get out, they're surprises for you!"

Sakura smiled and nudged at her, chuckling slightly. "You do not have to do that, Tomoyo."

"Sure, whatever. You should probably get back to work. Keep the dress, actually, you can wear that to the club we're going to this weekend."

"Do you _ever_ tell me anything _before_ you plan it?" Sakura asked exasperatingly, and was pushed into the changing room by a much excited Tomoyo.

"Never."

Akemi smiled at Sakura comfortingly as Sakura entered the room.

"She really is beautiful," Akemi murmured as Tomoyo walked over. The dark-haired girl nodded.

"She is."

"What does she do?"

"She works for the Li Co. currently."

Akemi nodded understandingly, and tilted her head in thought. Her face slowly stretched into a grin, and she looked at her companion. "Hey, Tomoyo, next time you finish a dress and have Kinomoto-san try it on, can I come and see?"

Tomoyo nodded, and looked at her questioningly. She blinked. "Yes, of course. Do you have something in mind?"

The redhead nodded, smiling warmly. "I was actually thinking if I could hire her as our new cover girl."

* * *

"I'm very confused," Eriol said, and watched Syaoran as he flipped through and signed his paperwork with amazing speed. "What is going on between you and Sakura?"

"Nothing but business," Syaoran replied, not looking up from his desk. "She's a fast worker, and does not complain much."

"I thought she dumped coffee on you _two weeks ago_."

Syaoran glanced up from his papers, and glared at his best friend with annoyance. "I thought we went over this _two weeks ago_."

"You never did answer the question."

Syaoran sighed, and rubbed his forehead with two fingers as he closed his eyes, suddenly wearing an expression of both irradiation and warmth. He shrugged one shoulder. "She's not a bad person. I just wanted to pick on her that day, so it was partially my fault."

"Woah, woah, Li Syaoran admitting his own faults? Are pigs flying now?"

Syaoran's face immediately hardened as he sent Eriol a glare.

"You don't. . . like her, do you?" he muttered a few moments later, and Syaoran more-or-less jumped in his seat and stared at him as if he was crazy. His expression was of utter bemusement and horror, and he opened and closed his mouth a few times as if grasping for words to say.

"Wha-Hiiragizawa, that's. . . no. That's an utterly atrocious thought. How did you get that idea?"

"Well, I assumed you didn't fire her because you like her. That makes sense, right? I mean, why _exactly_ did you not fire her?"

"The woman is annoying, and is not my type. I didn't fire her because I knew she needs this job. I also don't have any last-minute employee I want as my secretary; she is perfectly suitable for this. I'm also a new boss," he slowed down a bit, and sank back in his seat with a sigh. "I don't want to make an even worse impression."

Eriol tipped his head. "So you care for her?"

"As an employee, yes."

"Stubborn pain-in-the-ass," Eriol muttered underneath his breath, and Syaoran looked up, but did not hear it. Eriol sighed and looked at the clock. "It's nine, you should go home."

"I'm not tired," he said, but his posture was betrayed by a yawn escaping from his mouth, and he used a hand to cover it. Eriol looked at him skeptically. "I'm fine."

"Well, if you say so," Eriol grunted as he stood up, and stretched slightly. "Don't over-work yourself again, Syaoran."

"Got it," Syaoran replied, and shooed Eriol away with a his eyes still on the sheets. Eriol stuffed his hands in his pockets, and strode out of the room before he shut the door.

"That does not make any sense," Eriol muttered to himself once he got into his car, and started it. "She dumped _coffee_ on him. That's a load of trouble." He paused, looked up, and saw Sakura's figure as she scurried across the still-slightly-packed parking lot and into the grand building. Eriol smiled slightly. "Oh well, who knows what runs through his complicated mind." He drove off.

Sakura panted slightly as she finally entered her office, and grabbed her forgotten jacket slung over her chair. She set her coffee down on the table, and saw that the lights in Syaoran's office were still on. She blinked, and slowly walked up to the door, opening it a crack.

To her surprise, Syaoran didn't look up or notice her, as he seemed a bit busy covering his yawns as they came up continuously. Finally, after a few moments, he rested his head down on his arms and laid himself over the table.

Smiling slightly, Sakura grabbed her full cup of coffee, and suddenly was thankful that they had the same taste. She placed it softly next to his head, and left the room without a word.

* * *

_I hope this chapter somehow answered a few questions that people may have. . . I read a few of my reviews, and one pointed out that Sakura's character was off. Yes, she is an employee, and did what she did out of pure anger, but Syaoran didn't fire her because. . . well, who knows? I don't think he even knows. (even though he temporarily belongs to me here, haha)_

_And I absolutely love how you guys pay attention and actually point out my flaws, by the way. It makes me happy but scared at what you'd say, at the same time._

_If I don't update the next chapter within the next two months, feel free to sue me._


	5. if you learned your lesson

_It is within a month! A miracle, no? Totally a miracle._

_But I have to admit something shameful: I probably won't be able to update the next one within one month._

_And I have an excuse for that! I have excuses for almost everything. Anyway, the computer I am currently using is my high school computer, so I won't be able to use if over the summer when I turn it in. I'll have to use my own computer–something that sucks. I can't use the keyboard like I can use the one I'm using now. Uh, yeah. But I'm sure I can update it within _two_ months, otherwise I've got issues._

_So, I apologize. Um, enjoy it while you can? -innocent smile-_

_Disclaimer: Oh my dear word. _Still_ don't own CCS. Like, dude, come on. I'm not a saint, right, man?_

* * *

**5**. ...if you learned your lesson...

"-And there is an appointment scheduled at three o'clock his afternoon for Li-san. You _need_ to make sure he gets the message and that he actually goes there so – _are you listening_?"

Sakura jolted at the two fingers that snapped in front of her face before blushing hysterically. "I-I apologize," she hurriedly said, bowing her head. "I am a little. . . out of it today."

"No kidding," her ex-manager mumbled rudely, and Sakura strangled down the urge to, well, strangle her. "But have you been listening? Please tell me you at least heard _some_ of what I babbled to you."

"Li has, uh, Li-san has an appointment at three o'clock this afternoon with his mother. I need to make sure he gets to her office."

"Not really an office; a guestroom."

"The guestroom."

The elder woman nodded, and pushed her glasses up her nose. "Don't forget."

"I don't think I can," Sakura murmured to herself, and sighed as she sat back in her leather chair and her older boss walked out of the room. She scrunched her nose up at the amount of paperwork she had that day, and sighed again. "Well, this is wonderful."

"What's gotten into you?" Syaoran suddenly appeared out of the nowhere, and Sakura gave out a yelp. He quirked an eyebrow arrogantly. "Scaredy-cat."

"Scaredy-pfft," Sakura burbled, stuttering. "_You_ just _sorta_ came out of _thin air._ Were you here this whole time?"

"No," Syaoran retorted, rolling his eyes childishly.

"Well, tch, it's none of your business. I'm a person, you know, I've got my own problems to deal with."

"You mean you've got problems."

Sakura whirled around and sent him a dirty look.

"Fine, fine, like I care," Syaoran sighed, shrugging. "The only thing I care is that you're getting your job done. And then having my money displayed out before me on my table."

"Have fun with that, Mr. I'm-so-superior," Sakura mumbled on her breath. Syaoran, however, heard, and smirked.

"Why thank you, love," he joked, the teasing rare humor showing up in his tone. He turned on his heels, then, and left.

Sakura watched him go, her eyes narrowed in caution even if she knew he wasn't about to do anything to her. Her cellphone rung just as he stepped out of the room, and Sakura dug it out of her purse and smiled when she saw her best-friend's name. "Hey, Tomoyo!"

"_Sakura, love! Oh my sweet and lovely divine! How have you been, my cupcakes?"_

"Oh, the past few days have been dreadful, my dear, without your presence beside me! I feel suffocated in this terrible place, because I was never able to see your beautiful face! Please, my love, save me from this nightmare!"

"_You're poetry has improved, dearheart! Oh, how wonderful it is! Now can we please stop this strange nonsense, and actually talk like normal people?"_

Sakura laughed, and sighed dramatically as she threw her head up. "Thank you, gawd!"

"_You are so weird," _Tomoyo laughed on the other line, and Sakura dropped her jaw in mock offense.

"You started it!"

"_No, seriously though, how have you been?"_

Sakura shrugged cheerfully, though somehow a dreamy look slowly arose. "I've been well. Nothing really interesting, to be honest. Li hasn't been too hard on me, so life's good. How about-"

"_-Wait,"_ Tomoyo quickly cut in, and there was a pause as Sakura worriedly stopped to wait. _"Wha- who- WHO ASKED YOU OUT?"_

"Who what?" Sakura exclaimed back, her face slowly bleeding a light pink. "No- no one asked me out! What are you talking abou-"

"_-Oh, _someone_ asked you out, alright. Who is it? A friend? Do I know him? -gasp- Oh holy mother screwer with a bucket, is it Li-san?"_

"With a bu- _what?_ NO! No, and a million times no! What got into your head? Helium?"

"_No! Hyperness! Sakura, who is it?"_

"It's no one," she continued to retort stubbornly, and crossed her arms. "No one that _you'd_ know, anyway."

"_Ack! So someone _did_ ask you out! Don't let this be some perverted asshole again, woman."_

"He's nothing of that sort," Sakura said, frowning while smiling at the same time – which made quite a sight. "He's a true gentleman."

"_Are you sure?"_

"It's just a coffee date. For lunch. What could he possibly do?"

Tomoyo softly muttered an agreement, and Sakura could tell she was internally battling on whether to tell her to cancel this date or continue to encourage her. _"You know what, good for you. What has it been, like, a month since you broke up with that idiot?"_

"About," Sakura said, nodding. "This guy's 24. He works in this building. A lot of my co-workers like him, actually. Rika even said he was cute."

"_Rika? The, like, most mature and quiet girl ever? _She_ said he was cute? Oh, that's gotta be something. I mean, she's always so loyal to her boyfriend that she _never_ even so far as_ compliment_ other guys who_ isn't her guy_."_

"I know," Sakura said, smiling. "So you'll be the first to know if anything more happens, m'kay?"

"_You betcha girl. Tell anyone else before, and you'll be dead before you know it."_

Sakura let out a nervous laugh.

"_Anyway, I gotta go. It was break for me, and I haven't talked to you in, like, forever! Call me back quick, okay?"_

"I will," Sakura said, even though she wanted to speak with Tomoyo a bit more. "I love you! Don't over-work yourself."

"_Hypocrite," _Tomoyo laughed, and made a kissing sound over the phone. _"I love you, too!"_

The line then beeped, and Sakura sighed as she shut her phone and leaned back against her chair.

"So that's what's gotten into you," Syaoran's voice spoke up again, and Sakura literally jumped in her seat once more and glared at him.

"The heck- stop doing that, would you?" she cried, clutching onto the arms of her chair. He ignored the request and simply crossed his arms as he leaned onto the door frame.

"Who is this guy?"

"Why do I need to tell you?"

"Because I don't want him to be a guy who brings you back too late and have you miss your work."

"Gee, thanks for your confidence in me."

"Who is it?"

Sakura didn't catch the sharp edge in his voice, and sighed for the umpteenth time that day as she leaned her head back. "Katonshi. Katonshi Kukai."

"_That one_?"

She opened her eyes and glared at him. "What other one?"

"I honestly thought you'd have better taste in men," he said simply, and she glared even more. "Though I shouldn't have had my hopes up. Your last one sure proved that your taste isn't that excellent."

"Oh, shut up," she said, and crossed her arms. "You're just jealous that people actually _like _me for who I am, not just because of my looks and that they want to get into my pants."

Syaoran's eyes narrowed dangerously and stood his ground. "Watch your mouth, Kinomoto, don't forget who's the boss here."

Although Sakura didn't show it, she internally shrunk back in fear with a grimace.

She didn't look up as Syaoran crossed the room to enter his own office, so she couldn't notice the hard set of his jaw, or the whiteness of his knuckles as he clenched his fists.

* * *

"You okay with this?" he inquired politely, and Sakura nodded with a smile as he pulled open the door for her and let her in first.

"It's great. Thanks," she replied, then waited as they both looked for a place to sit. Kukai suddenly turned to her.

"I'll go get us the coffee. You go look for the seat?" his question was simple, and it wasn't demanding. Sakura gave out a small laugh and nodded. "Vanilla mocha with extra whip cream, yes?"

"Yes; thank you so much," she said, and watched as he sent her a grin and walk up to the counter. She found them a small booth near the windows to look out into the streets, and waited patiently for him to come back while fiddling with her phone. Tomoyo had already sent her three messages, all asking how the date was going so far. She rolled her eyes and punched back to all of them, "It barely even started yet! I got it, woman!" and a wink.

Syaoran even sent her one, saying that he was leaving early and so could she.

"So, pretty cold today, huh?" Kukai returned with their drinks, sliding into the seat in front of her. "Well, that's winter."

"Always the frosty season," Sakura added, and took her coffee. He sent her another grin, and she blushed. "How have you been?"

He exhaled loudly and ran a hand through his messy hair, looking off to the side. "I've been better. Days like these are hard ones."

"They are."

"I hate winter."

"I'm not surprised."

At this, he turned to her. "You're not?"

She shrugged, smiling. "No. You seem like the summer type of guy."

A grin slowly stretched its way onto his face, and he showed off white teeth with a laugh. "I am," he paused to look at her. "Is that good?"

"Sunny is always good."

"So do you like sunny people?"

Sakura blushed prettily, and looked down as her shy side crept up. "I like most of them, yes."

"That's a relief," he laughed into his cup, before he lifted it and drank. It was then that she noticed that he was strangely, and quite bluntly, _too_ familiar to her. He was only a little taller than her, and lean, with tanned skin and rippling muscles on his arms and jaw. His hair was brown and tousled, hardly looking like it was ever tamed, and when his eyes were looking at her they were of warm chocolate. . . Sometimes she imagined them to be a dark and brilliant amber. Such as now, really. And even when Kukai leaned even closer to her.

"Sakura?"

She blinked, noticing that she had been staring at him the whole time. Sakura gasped and blushed even more before leaning back. "Ah! Uh. . . so sorry," she mumbled. Kukai simply laughed.

"Don't be. I get that a lot."

She glared at him teasingly.

"So how is _your_ day so far?" he changed the subject, making her heart skip a beat when he smirked. Too familiar.

Sakura nodded timidly as she sipped on her drink, and drew back when it was too hot. "It's fine," she said, pursing her lips. "Had a lot of work to do, but I'm fast." _Well I practically flew through everything just so I can come to this date._

He laughed, a cheerful and warm sound to her ears, before drinking his own cappuccino, as well. "That must be why you're Li's secretary."

She rolled her eyes. "I just feel like he made me his secretary just to torment me."

Suddenly, the warmth immediately disappeared from his eyes, and they widened as his voice abruptly became a bit cold. "Does he hurt you?"

Shocked and blinking at the sudden change of atmosphere, Sakura quickly shook her head. "Oh, no, he doesn't _hurt_ me. We just had a, uh, really strange first meeting. Well, it wasn't even a meeting really. I had this. . .problem, and we–" she cut off, embarrassed. "It's a strange encounter. Not a great first impression. We've been giving each other a hard time since then."

Kukai nodded in understanding, but his eyes still seemed hard as he settled them onto her hands. "Is he. . . a bad guy?"

Sakura blinked. "Of course he's not. He's just bad with me. He's a pretty good person, actually."

Kukai let out an irritated breath between his teeth as he looked to the side. "How can he be a good person when _he_ wasn't?"

Although that sentence was clearly not for her to hear, Sakura worriedly looked at him, unsure of what to do, before finally settling on resting her hand on his and bringing his attention to her. "Hey, Kukai, you alright?"

As if finally realizing what he was doing, Kukai blinked at her in slight shock and shook his head, his boyish side coming out again. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I just got a bit carried away."

Sakura nodded at him, still concerned.

"It's nothing, really," he said at her expression, and grinned as he took her hand instead. "Sorry I made you worried. I'm just being a drama queen. Well, er, king. I suppose."

Sakura's frown line slowly disappeared, and she sent him a laugh before leaning back. "Okay. Is it something you want to talk about, though?"

He shook his head. "It's no big deal."

"If you say so," she murmured, shrugging. She lifted her cup to her lips, then paused and looked down. "Uh, Kukai?"

He had also been drinking, and paused to look at her. "Hmm?"

"You're still holding my hand," she said, her eyes still cast down. He blinked at her.

"Yeah?"

A blush slowly crept its way up her face, and she smiled. She drank her coffee to hide her glee. "Nothing."

In response, and clearly knowing what hers was, Kukai squeezed her hand.

* * *

Sakura cheerfully, albeit dreamily, skipped back to her office with a fresh cupcake in her hand that Kukai had bought for her before they left. She hummed her way through the stairs and the elevators, and down the hall to her office. It was a cheerful environment for her.

Until she opened the doors, and it immediately became tense.

"Mother, I told you. I am not-" Syaoran cut off, standing, and sighing into his hand as he lifted it to palm his face. Sakura paused in her figure at the door, her hand still on the knob, and she looked at him through the door of his own office as he stood near the windows. "Mother, I am not going back." A pause. "I don't care if they want me to run another errand! I've got other cousins that can do it for them." He paused again. "Mama, I don't see the need to go back. And no, whoever told you I didn't like it here?"

Sakura bit her lip, unsure of what to do, as Syaoran continued arguing with his mother over the phone. Slowly, she crept her way across the room after closing the door, and stopping at his as she waited for him to finish.

"-I also don't care about that, Mother, you of all people should know that. You know what? I _hate_ it. I'm tired of you all telling me what to do, Mama. I don't care what the Elders say." He paused then, and quiet down, before sighing patiently and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "No, Mama, it's not because of that."

Sakura blinked, and watched him sigh again and look up at the ceiling in despair. "Sure, I'll talk to you when I get home. You don't have to come at three, then." He paused one last time, and closed his eyes. "By, Mama." Slowly, and tiredly, he dropped his arm and ended the call.

Sakura sent him a worried look, and if he knew she was there, he didn't show it. Syaoran turned around and sat back in his desk with a grunt, before tossing his phone onto his table and rubbing the bridge of his nose again. Sakura cautiously made her way towards him, and placed her cupcake on his desk.

"Hey," she softly.

Acknowledging her presence, Syaoran grunted.

". . . Do you. . . need to go home?" Sakura asked, and mentally kicked herself in the balls at the stupid question. Then she paused, punched herself, and realized that she didn't _have_ any balls. In literal sense.

Syaoran dropped his arms to his sides with a sigh, his eyes closed. "Mm."

"I can drive you home, or something," she suggested, sounding a bit hopeful. "Well, do you need anything first?"

"I'm fine. Just go, if you want to. You got all your work done, right?"

She blinked at his tired reply, never having seen this side of him before. He looked truly upset. She nodded, even though he probably couldn't see, and frowned. "I feel bad, though. You look worse than me. I'll drive you home," she said again.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked at her. "Fine."

Smiling, she stood up and helped him pack up, before taking his arm gently and leading him out of the office, her dessert long forgotten.

* * *

". . . Is it too rude to ask what happened back there?" Sakura asked as they drove down the road of the city. It wasn't too busy, nor was it unperturbed, but her hands were sweaty as she clutched onto the wheel and waited for a reply.

". . . Yes," he replied shortly. And slightly offended, Sakura furrowed her brows and muttered an, "Oh." "But it's nothing important."

"It _must_ be important," she mumbled, frowning, but keeping her eyes on the road. She heard him sigh, and was worried that he took that with resentment, and bit her lip in anticipation.

". . . My mother wants me to go back to Hong Kong," he finally said, possibly knowing that Sakura also knew that. "I don't want to."

"Why does she want you to go back?" Sakura asked softly, carefully, and looked at him from the corner of her eyes.

"The Elders. The. . . older generations of this clan, who has almost complete control over the whole Li family. With the exception of my dad, of course, when he was alive. He was just too powerful." he paused, and cleared his throat. "They want me to go back and run the business there, but they made up some stupid excuse of how they need me to run errands for them. Like welcoming people from another country; speak business. Just a load of crap." He sighed angrily, and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't want to go back there."

Sakura peeked at him again, and frowned. "Is it bad?"

He shook his head. "Not bad, itself, just bad for me. And they want a reason why I don't want to go back. . . I truly don't have one yet. I just don't."

Sakura also sighed angrily, and pouted as she steered the car. She clenched her fists. "Well, why don't they understand? I mean, they really can't boss you around like this. It's just not fair."

"It's not," he agreed, a stiff tone in his voice. "I think I know the reason why they want _me_ to go back, though."

"What is it?"

". . . I have a lot of cousins and siblings. Ironically, most of them are women; only one guy, other than me, can pass down the Li name. Except. . . well, he's infertile; he can't have children. So even if he adopts kids and names them with our surname, they're not related by blood. My kids will truly be the only Li's in this generation. So the clan all depends on me."

Sakura blinked in surprise, then furrowed her eyebrows in revelation and realization. "Oh, wow. That's. . . tough."

"Yeah," he sighed out. And leaned back against the seat.

"But why do they want you to come back? You can have kids here, can't you?"

He sent her an almost-amused look, before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "No, they won't allow it."

"They don't _own_ you."

"They sorta do."

"Well- um, you can refuse, can't you?" Sakura by now was shaking, and she was clutching the wheel so hard the car was trembling slightly as well.

He was silent for a while, and Sakura slowed down at an upcoming red light that was only a block away. By the time he spoke again, Sakura was pressing the break pedal.

"I'm in an arranged marriage."

She pressed the break too hard, and the car squealed as it came to a stop. Neither had the time to react or say anything though, for a large truck suddenly honked their way over and crashed into the side of her vehicle.

The last thing Sakura remembered was the loud scream that escaped her lips, and a pair of strong arms that circled around her and held her close.

* * *

_Oh dear. Things are going well for them, aren't they? (I just realized: _such_ a cliché moment) __Anyway, forgive me for the most-likely-to-be-late chapter next time. You have to give me some credit, though. I'm not exaggerating this, but _all_ (yes, all) of the stories that I've been following, haven't been updated for at least three months. Well, okay, one is two and half, BUT THAT'S STILL WRONG! I mean, please spare me? I don't mind you asking for fast updates, I'm just saying I shouldn't be hated. Hopefully, anyway. -innocent smile that seems more devious than my first one-_


	6. and you're lucky enough

_Oh my god, I really can't believe I've been gone for two months. I mean, usually, when I say a time, it really doesn't take that long at all. Two months is an awfully long time; I honestly hated having to make you guys wait. But now that I've got my own computer -for a little while, since it's not actually mine-, I am finally going to update the next chapter and ask for all of your forgiveness'. -apologetic smile-_

_I also think my writing has, how do you say this, de-proved over the past couple of months. It's summer, and my brain's slightly fried. However, a chapter's a chapter, and I truly did my best. Constructive criticism is most definitely appreciated!_

_Disclaimer: No. I did not spend the last few months demanding for ownership over the series. Otherwise I would probably be sued right now._

* * *

**6.** . . . and you're lucky enough . . .

_I feel_, she thought, as her brain whirled in her head and she tried to gain sense of direction, _like crap._

_Really, really, bad crap._

Sakura grunted and peeled open her eyelids, her eyelashes sticking together like glue. Her vision blurred painfully white as she adjusted to the brightness, and she groaned in pain. A headache was pounding underneath her skin, and she could practically feel it, so she lifted a hand and pressed it to her forehead. It was covered with cold sweat. "Blurghmfph."

"What in the dear world was that sound?" A soothing voice asked from beside her; however, the teasing laced too much concern for it to be humorous. "How are you feeling, Kinomoto-san?"

_Like crap,_ she thought again. _Didn't I just say that?_

"Can you see me?"

Sakura turned her head slightly to the left, and nodded once, but immediately regretted it.

"A headache, right?" The nurse asked; her uniform was also white and it was hurting Sakura's eyes. "Of course. You've been unconscious for two days."

Sakura simply blinked.

"Have some of this," the woman instructed, handing over a glass of cold water and two pills. "It will help the pain. I also suggest you to continue and rest for today."

Sakura took the drink and medicine reluctantly, but she didn't have a chance to croak out a reply when dark-haired Tomoyo came bursting into the room, her face pale and frantic. "Sakura!" she cried with relief, and simply ran across towards her and squeezed her tightly into an embrace. "I am so glad you're alive!"

_I was!_ the victim thought, and she felt blood rush up to her face again. Soon enough, the nurse and someone else quickly pulled Tomoyo away.

"Tomoyo, calm down. Sakura's fine, you can stop panicking now."

"I thought you wouldn't ever wake up!" her best friend continue to cry, and to Sakura's surprise, tears were already gathering up and glistening in her eyes. "Sakura, I was so worried!"

"I'm all right now," Sakura said, her voice cracking slightly. She gave Tomoyo her best smile. "I'm totally fine. Don't worry now."

The paler girl clasped her hand around her friend's, and laughed tearfully. A hand suddenly appeared on her shoulder, and it led up to an arm that was attached to Eriol. He was looking down at her with a gentle smile. "We're so glad you're all right."

"You guys came together?" Sakura said teasingly, and a light blush colored the pale cheek of Tomoyo's face.

"Well, yes, because of both you were hurt-"

_Both of us,_ Sakura suddenly started, her eyes widening in horror. _Both of us: Li!_

"Syaoran! What happened to him? Is he alright?"

* * *

"He was covering you when the ambulance found you in the car," Tomoyo carefully explained, pushing the wheelchair that Sakura was currently occupying in. "So he broke an arm and got a concussion. But otherwise, he's uninjured."

"This is all my fault," Sakura muttered to herself, palming her face. Her heart was beating frantically in her chest. "It's all my fault. He wouldn't even be hurt at all if it weren't for me."

"It's not," Eriol reassured her, his face more serious than she'd ever seen him before. "You stopped at the red light, and you weren't even pass the crosswalk. It was the bus that was driving too close; he did the illegal driving."

"But he was still in he car with me!"

"And how could that be your fault?" he gently comforted, smiling reassuringly. "You can't see the future. You wouldn't have known that a huge truck was going to run you over."

"He got hurt because he protected me."

Eriol shrugged at that. "That's what men do. I would even do that for you. But you can't blame yourself, Sakura." He leaned over a little, and placed a hand on your shoulder. "You really shouldn't. This was in no way your fault. It was the driver of the truck." He stood straight, and his eyes suddenly darkened. "Who ran away before the police came."

"We still haven't found that bastard yet," Tomoyo snarled, shockingly angry. "And he was probably wearing gloves, because we couldn't find any fingerprints. He probably stole the truck, too; the owner of it said he didn't lend it to anyone."

"We _will_ find him, and he will take responsibility for all of this." Eriol looked at Sakura. "We'll keep you safe."

Sakura could feel her body trembling as she saw the unconscious figure on the bed, and the monitor beside Syaoran's head beeped steadily, but that did not help the guilt in her stomach at all. She felt sick. Clasping a hand over her mouth, she breathed loudly and deeply, despite knowing that Syaoran was alive and he will be fine. Worry seeped through her brain like sponge soaking in water.

After a while, Tomoyo sent her back to her room and Eriol left for a conference, now that Syaoran was unable to do his job. By the time the two arrived, a redheaded woman was standing near the bed, a bouquet of different flowers in her hands, and she sighed in relief when the two strolled in. She smiled at Sakura. "I'm so glad you're alright."

"Kobayashi-san?" Sakura asked, grinning back. "What are you doing here?"

"Tomoyo told me that you woke up, and I was in the city, so I just decided to stop by." She helped Tomoyo bring Sakura back on her bed. "It's a relief. You're not injured badly."

"_I_'m not," Sakura laughed breathlessly, and a frown appeared between her eyebrows. "You didn't have to come all this way."

Akemi shrugged. "I know. I just wanted to."

"Actually," Tomoyo cut in, smiling comfortingly, "Akemi also has something else to tell you," she turned to the other girl, "right?"

Akemi smiled a bit doubtfully. "I don't want to put more pressure on you."

Sakura shook her head and continued to smile. "No, it's totally fine. Tell me."

The redhead took a deep breath, and looked at Tomoyo for reassurance. Then she nodded and grinned. "Ever since I saw you in that dress Tomoyo designed for you last time, I've been wondering if you were interested in modeling." She shrugged. "Would you like to be our cover-girl this year? We have many spots."

Sakura blinked in shock at the offer and swallowed, her green eyes bewildered and wide. She tilted her head, wondering vaguely if it was a hallucination, and then laughed with relief when she realized it wasn't. She nodded. "I'd be happy to think about it."

Akemi clapped her hands cheerfully. "Great. And don't worry; if you're not ready for the job, I totally understand. Just call me when you feel like you know the answer, okay?"

With that, the lovely lady sent her one last reassuring smile and left the room after wishing her good health. Dazed, Sakura leaned back against her pillow, and practically beamed when Tomoyo gave her an understanding smile.

* * *

"Sakura!" Kukai exclaimed, his face happy and flushed. He ran up to her and enveloped her in a loose hug, to which she responded with a blush of red on her cheeks. "I'm so glad you're all right."

"Yes, I'm fine," she said into his shoulder, and smiled at him when they pulled apart. "Has anything happened while I'm gone?"

"We were all worried sick about you, if that's something," he replied, laughing. He touched her cheek affectionately. "God, I wish I went to visit you, but I never had the time. With Li-san gone, the whole building's been hectic."

"I can only imagine," she said, grimacing. "It's not your fault. Li is still unconscious, and I only woke up yesterday." She tucked her hair back behind her ear. "I had to come back, now that's he's going to be absent for a while."

"Yeah," Kukai nodded. He then clasped her hand. "I'm really glad you're not hurt."

Sakura blushed again.

"Do you have any idea who was driving the truck and hurt you?" Kukai suddenly inquired, his eyes concerned. "Hiiragizawa-san told many of us what happened, and that someone drove into you on purpose. Have you any idea who it might be?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, we have no clue so far. Apparently, the guy stole the truck, because the owner had no idea what happened. Or he was trying to cover up for him." Sakura shrugged as she breathed. "We've also been too caught up with the company lately to look for evidence 24/7."

"Right," Kukai nodded, furrowing his eyebrows. "It probably will take a while."

Sakura frowned. "Probably."

"I'm sure everything will get sorted out," he reassured her, brown eyes glowing. "And if anything happens and you're in trouble, don't be afraid to call for me."

Smiling, Sakura nodded shyly and he slowly pulled back.

"It's really my break right now, so I have to go." Kukai looked at a clock on the wall with worry. When he turned back to her, he held out a bag of tea packs. "I was going to give this to you because you were in the hospital, but now that you're all right, do you mind giving this to Li-san when he wakes up?" He grinned lop-sided. "It's a good remedy for head-aches. But don't drink it when you don't have one; it gives you a stomach-ache."

"Thank you," Sakura said, taking the gift. "I'm sure he'll be very touched."

Kukai leaned down to kiss her on the cheek, before blushing a light red, an unreadable expression on his face, and ran off to his office. Sakura hadn't had the time to respond before Rika suddenly appeared from beside her and pulled her into a tight embrace, and the rest of her co-workers welcomed her back.

* * *

The evening after, she had arrived in the hospital again with some flowers and the tea Kukai had given her. The room had been filled with other presents and good-wishes the building most likely had sent. She smiled sadly. That afternoon, one of the nurses had called her and announced the news that Syaoran had woken up for a moment, far earlier than the doctors had expected, but he had a major head-ache and was fed with some sleeping pills and rested again. Eriol hadn't the time to stop by, and Tomoyo wasn't as close to him as either of them, so Sakura suggested she'd come alone. Sakura sat down next to Syaoran's bed, and sighed.

"I just had to miss you," she murmured to him, setting her flowers down onto a table. The petals sprawled against the surface in a surreal fashion. She looked at the bag of tea, and tore one open. "Might as well make one for you," she said, and threw one into a cup. She poured some hot water into the mug, and turned when she heard a woman's voice behind her.

"Who are you?"

The woman looked young, but the age in her eyes told Sakura otherwise. Sakura slowed down her pouring and looked at the lady in shock. "My name is Kinomoto Sakura," she said hesitantly, a shiver went down her spine when a flash of recognition went through the woman's eyes. "And you, ma'am? Are you a friend of Syaoran's?"

The woman straightened a bit, despite her already-formal posture. There was an elderly man behind her who was looking at Sakura with interest and concern, but he kept his head down to be polite. Finally, the woman parted her red lips and spoke. "My name is Li Yelan. I'm Syaoran's mother."

Sakura started and spilt her cup of tea, and the water reached the flowers on the table before the petals sizzled, and a few turned brown.

* * *

_-shudder- That felt incredibly rushed. Are any of you confused? I sure hope not. Hopefully that was all right._

_And I might be able to update the next chapter within the end of next week. If I don't, I don't deserve to write at all. Ha._


	7. But if you don't

_Alrighty then! Now it's on with the show. Once again, thank you all for your wonderful reviews._

_Don't own Cardcaptor Sakura._

* * *

**7.** . . . But if you don't . . .

"Yelan-sama apologizes for not being able to greet you, Sakura-san," an elderly man, Wei, said to Sakura kindly as he led her further into the mansion Syaoran was living in. It wasn't the main house of the Li clan, as that was understandably located in China, so it wasn't as grand of a size . . . Though that still didn't faze to amaze her at the glorious chandeliers and the elegant decorations on the walls. It was simply magnificent; she could hardly imagine anyone to live here.

Wei, she found out, had been servicing Syaoran ever since he was a child and his father passed away. He was a gentle and kind man, and immediately filled her with warmth and calmness at every single smile. Sakura settled herself in a fancy but comfortable couch in the guest room, and watched as the old man poured her tea.

"She has been experiencing much trouble, lately, with the company," he continued, and handed her the drink when he finished. "Though you are great help in managing everything while Syaoran-san is absent, she still worries about other market relationships because those were handled by her son."

"I hope she knows how regrettable I am," Sakura murmured quietly, a blush on her face. She peeked at him doubtfully. "Does she hate me?"

Wei shook his head, "No, no, Sakura-san, she does not hate you. She understands that she really has no reason to; you are not fully responsible for Syaoran-san's condition. It is not completely your fault, so she doesn't hate you."

"I still feel awful," Sakura admitted, gulping down her drink and ignoring the heat of it down her throat. "He was already having a bad day, and I just made it worst."

"Syaoran-san is a really kind man," Wei smiled supportively, and the comfort in his eyes were enough to bring Sakura to slight tears – he reminded her so much of her father. "He wouldn't hate you either. In fact, I would say that he quite likes you."

At that, Sakura immediately leaned back and blinked thrice in sudden shock, almost dropping her cup of tea. "I-I'm–I'm sorry?"

"Because of his family and who he is, he hasn't had a very bright childhood in Hong Kong." Wei frowned a bit sadly. "Other kids were told to not become too close to him, for he was from a powerful clan . . . Despite the fact that he was only a boy, others were still too scared to befriend him, because of their fears of angering him on accident. Li-san had made sure to have people fear him when he was alive, and that just troubled Syaoran's life."

Sakura frowned, too. "That's horrible."

"Yes," he nodded. "So, as he grew up, he only had two close friends who sticked to his side: Eriol-san, as you know, and Li Meiling-san, another cousin of his."

"Meiling-san doesn't live in Japan?"

"She hasn't learned enough Japanese to come, and she is also engaged with other business issues in Hong Kong."

Sakura sighed, "At least there's still Eriol-san with him."

Wei smiled, "And you."

"What makes you think he likes me?"

He shrugged a bit, still grinning, and clasped his hands in front of him in a formal way. "He still has not fired you, despite your . . . interesting meeting."

Sakura ducked her head. "He told you about that?"

Wei laughed. "Oh, he went a whole day hung over by that."

The front door of the mansion suddenly opened, and a few seconds later Yelan walked in clad with a velvet suit and a fur purse. Sakura hastily stood up from her seat, setting her cup down loudly on the table in front of her, and she and Wei both bowed.

"Yelan-sama."

"Li-sama."

Yelan nodded at them both. "I apologize for not being able to welcome you today," she said, and walked into the room, sitting down on the couch in front of Sakura. "There was an emergency meeting at the office, though I do not see the need of having had it." She sighed, and accepted a cup of tea from Wei. She then glanced at Sakura with serious eyes, and nodded politely again. "Please, sit down."

Awkwardly, Sakura complied and cleared her throat as she watched the older woman take another sip of her drink, before she set it down soundlessly with gentle grace. Sakura fought the urge to bite her lip at the simple, yet absolutely elegant gesture, and tried to calm herself when Yelan cast her a wary glance. "I hope you know why I invited you here today."

Sakura shook slightly with nervousness, frightened. "I-I think so," she said softly, then cleared her throat when she realized that was too quiet. "I mean, is it something to do with . . . my position in the company"

Yelan regarded her calmly, "I am not going to fire you, Kinomoto-san."

Sakura blinked. "Oh."

"Syaoran's condition is now completely stable, and I've heard from his doctor that he had woken up already. Have you been visiting him often?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes. Every day."

"Well, that's quite interesting how I just met you yesterday," she sat back slightly, but still straight, and fixed a heavy stare on her, which caused Sakura to jump automatically. "I understand you are a great worker, Kinomoto-san, I've heard that you are hardworking and concentrating, and you do your job with precise, and on-time. I give you my gratitude for all the work that you've done for the company while Syaoran is gone. You have just recovered not too long ago, and yet you immediately went back to work. That's a very admirable spirit."

Sakura's eyes widened at each compliment the powerful woman had thrown to her, but before she could reply, Yelan continued.

"However, what I don't understand is why Syaoran kept you, and knew that you were capable of your job. I've heard that you were just an average employee before Syaoran started managing; maybe I've heard wrong. And it didn't appear to me that you made a great first impression on him with your call."

Sakura's face flushed redly again, and she restrained herself from yelling in horror as she knew that even Syaoran's mother knew what she'd done. Humiliation was written all over her face as she bowed her head in shame, and Wei smiled amusingly. "I–Yes, I, um, did not make a very . . . admirable first impression on him. But I hope you've heard that it was an accident! I did not mean to call him!"

Yelan nodded, still formal, but with a hint of a smile on her face. "Yes, I reckoned that much."

"And, actually, I-I was a coworker for the previous boss that ran the company," she stuttered hurriedly, her fingers creating wrinkles on her skirt. "Sort of, not really . . . Not, like, her actual assistant, but, um, I was somehow promoted–"

"Yes, alright, I understand," Yelan calmly interrupted, holding a hand out. Sakura had started breathing hard and was practically sweating beneath her clothes. "However, you two do not have a . . . personal relationship?"

Confused, Sakura quickly closed her mouth and eyed the elder woman quizzically. She shook her head, "Um, no, not really. He's, well, my boss, and I, um, suppose I'm sort of . . . scared to be friends with him–"

"But there is no essential relationships between you two?"

Sakura was utterly bewildered. "I . . . do not understand–"

"You two are not sleeping with each other?"

Immediately, Sakura bursted a deep, deep red and shot up from her seat, shaking frantically and with embarrassment. Yelan leaned back in shock and caution, and Wei took a step forward and reached a comforting hand. "Oh! Oh, no! No, no, no, no, no! I'm not-! We aren't-! We," she laughed nervously, "are most definitely not-! No. I-no. No, we are not-" she cleared her throat in panic, and started to hyperventilate. She shook her head. "Most definitely, not, Li-sama, we are not-"

"Yes, please, Kinomoto-san, calm down." the woman waved a hand, quite speechless at the younger girl's reaction. Clearly, this was a sensitive subject to touch upon. "Sit down, please, I apologize for your discomfort in this issue."

Wei pushed her down gently, but Sakura was still blushing profoundly. She stared at her hands once she settled.

"I see you are an intelligent and modest young lady," Yelan compliment slowly, somewhat hopefully, but Sakura didn't seem too delighted to hear anything. "You are very resigned of your being; I appreciate that."

"Thank you for understanding," Sakura muttered eventually, still looking at her hands. "Though I honestly have to say that I do not understand fully, myself, of why he wanted to keep me. I . . . I try to be the best I can in my job, because I need it. I suppose he understood that, so he kept me."

"Yes, that is an interesting subject," Yelan drawled, raking her eyes over Sakura once in an almost considerable fashion. Finally, she took a breath, and regarded her, once again, with utmost calmness. "Kinomoto-san, I hope you know why Syaoran is so important to this clan."

Sakura quickly cooled down at the change of subject, and nodded. "Yes, I do."

"He is not only important to me, but he is the only man in the clan who will be able to pass down the Li name and blood down the generations. He plays a very valuable and high role."

Sakura nodded again. "Yes, I understand that. He told me, actually."

Yelan raised an eyebrow in interest. "He did?"

"Well, the day that we . . . got into the accident, he told me that he had only one more male cousin in the family who is able to pass down the Li name, but he is infertile."

"Yes, many others had passed away."

"They did?"

"My husband did not die of a disease or old age; he was killed in a plane crash."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up. "He did?"

"A private plane, yes. Syaoran had been too young then, so my husband had brought the older boys of the family, at that time, around the world to gain experience, only because it was an order from the Elders. Despite him being the most powerful Li, they still had the power to tell him to teach the second generation. On the plane's way to Germany, I remembered it was, it crashed." She paused to take a drink of water, and Sakura assumed she was also trying to regain her posture. "Many of us actually thought it was a murder."

"A murder?" Sakura asked in astonishment, surprised. "I didn't know that."

"I didn't think you would. I doubt Syaoran would really like to talk about it. It is a stressful subject."

"I'm sorry for all the loss," Sakura replied, frowning. "It must have been horrible for you."

Yelan almost sniffed, and looked at her. "Yes, it was horrible for all of us. It was horrible for him, too."

"I understand the feeling . . . Of losing someone you love," Sakura smiled gently. "But we all grow up and become strong enough to overcome it."

"Who did you lose, dear? A sibling?"

Sakura shook her head. "A parent. My mother. She died of an illness when I was very young."

Yelan finally broke a sad smile, and her eyes started to water before she took a breath and drank her tea again. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," she replied, shaking her head. She smiled back. "You are a very strong woman, Li-sama. I've heard that you also have four other daughters. That is a remarkable amount of responsibility, not just as someone who is important to the clan, but also as a mother."

"I love my children, and I cannot afford to give up," she shrugged slightly, almost as if saying, 'What can you do?' Then she looked up, and smiled once again. "It's so wonderful that you understand."

"But, um, I've heard that Syaoran is also in an arranged marriage?"

Yelan's smile dropped, and she looked upset and troubled. She nodded. "Yes, he is. It's unavoidable, though; many of us feel that he has absolutely no intention of marrying or bearing children soon, so we are worried if it will be too late. And . . . we also can't afford letting him have an affair with a woman who is not capable of helping him carry on the responsibilities of the clan."

Sakura made a grim face. "Yes, I highly doubt he wants that, too."

"I do not agree with it. Many of us do not think it is fair for his life to be arranged. But unless there is a more suitable woman for him other than the woman we've chosen, we cannot let him decide on this."

"Can't you say something about it?"

Yelan shook her head. "No. As far as power, the Elders are not as powerful as my husband, but they are stronger than me."

Sakura made a face and said under her breath, "That is so sexist."

Yelan smiled, and raised her cup to her lips. "It is."

After a moment, Sakura lit up with a sudden thought and blinked in curiosity. "Li-sama? Have you heard from Eriol-san about the truck that hit us that day?"

Yelan set her cup down, and nodded. "Yes, I have. We are still searching for the driver. It is interesting how hard it is to find him; he must have strong coverage. The must be some power protecting him."

"Do you think we'll catch him soon?"

Yelan shook her head. "We cannot know for sure. Despite the accident being committed in broad daylight, and in the middle of the street, no one knew who he is. There is no trace of him."

"So, then, there must be some command involved."

"We've been considering that."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"The only thing you can do right now is to make sure no one dangerous or suspicious gets too close to Syaoran. He is in a weak condition now, and you are one of the closest people to him. You must keep him from anyone who might turn on him, or might have the motion to hurt him. Keep an eye around him. It might even be someone from the company."

Sakura nodded seriously. "I will make sure that I do that."

"I'm sure you will do your best then," she said, reassurance in her eyes. "I'm counting on you to take care of Syaoran for a little while in the next few days. I need to return to Hong Kong shortly for an Elders' meeting. Will you be able to handle it?"

"I will be able to handle anything," Sakura said with determination, wrinkling her skirt again. "I'll also visit him everyday."

"Why don't we go now, then?"

Sakura blinked. "Now?"

* * *

"Oh–God!" Sakura had exclaimed the minute she stepped into Syaoran's room. He was sitting up, a white bowl of something in his hand, and he was eating from it with a spoon. Realizing she might have said something inappropriate in front of Yelan, she ducked her head and blushed. "Sorry."

Syaoran blinked at the two at the door, and set his food down reluctantly. "Mother? And . . . You two came together?"

"Syaoran," Yelan smiled, and walked forward and embraced him before he slowly relaxed in her arms. Sakura stood at the side, watching the affection that Yelan was displaying generously. It was almost like she was a different person. "I am so glad you are finally awake."

"Sorry, Mother," Syaoran muttered into her neck, but his face was hidden with Yelan's hair so Sakura couldn't see either of them. "I could've woken up earlier, but I was too tired."

"I know," she replied soothingly, and ran her hand over his back. "I'm just glad you're finally all right."

"Mostly all right," the two finally drew apart, and Sakura saw a small smile on his face. "Still got a broken arm, but that can be quickly fixed."

"Yes, let's hope that it can," Yelan nodded, smiling back. Finally remembering that Sakura was still there, she turned. "And I was having tea with Sakura-san, actually, just before we came. She's been taking great care of you these days."

Sakura looked at her in surprise when Yelan called her by her first name, and Syaoran seemed surprised too. However, there was something else in his gaze that Sakura couldn't completely recognize, and he finally nodded at her. "Hey."

"I," she breathed, clutching her fingers together with anxiousness until it almost hurt, "I am so sorry. I'm–really glad you're all right. Really. I was scared that you were hurt even more than I imagined, and I would . . . I would feel absolutely terrible. I already feel like a horrible person. I'm sorry." Sakura bowed down at the waist, closing her eyes in hopes of preparing for whatever words and insults he might throw at her. However, he never did, and they were enveloped in stunned silence for a while before he finally broke it.

"I don't blame you," he said, watching as Sakura shot up. "Eriol, actually, already told me what happened that day. I don't blame you at all."

Sakura blinked almost incredulously at him. "You don't?"

"I mean, unless you want me to. I can totally fire you because of your horrible driving, and because you want be to blame you, and then I'll just watch and settle back in contentment as you roam about the streets in search of another job that suits you the best."

"Syaoran!" Yelan exclaimed appallingly, slapping him on the arm. She didn't even flinch when he jumped and protested with an, "Ow". "That was absolutely rude!"

"Well, I guess I deserved that terrifying image," Sakura said sarcastically, and he grinned at her. "Thank you. Thank you very much."

"But I will consider giving you credit since, apparently, you've been taking good care of me while I was out," he smiled. "I hope you haven't ran the company into bankruptcy, yet."

"Does he always talk to you like this?" Yelan asked, pointing a finger at him as she looked at Sakura. Sakura nodded.

"Oh, yes."

Yelan returned to her son with a scornful look. He only grinned back cheekily.

"Why, Mother, that is only our way of showing affection."

"Yes, well, affection has definitely changed its meaning these days," she ruffled his hair, disheveling it even more, and then drew back with another frown. "You really need to comb your hair."

Sakura almost laughed.

To her relief, they had spent almost two hours in the hospital with him that evening, and the conversations were mostly light and relaxed. By the time Syaoran finally got tired of catching up with everything, Yelan and Sakura had prepared to leave. With a heavy boulder finally taken off her shoulders, Sakura walked out with Yelan with an utmost feeling of joy and a strange warmth in her heart. The gladness was almost enough for her to jump up and shout in celebration.

Yelan told her she'd be leaving in two days, and, surprisingly, had told Sakura that she was good company, and that she'd like to meet up with her again. Honored, Sakura complied without any hesitation, smiling pleasantly as she watched the woman crossed the parking lot to her own private vehicle. Her driver and Wei, by the car, bowed at her.

However, her sense of hearing had heightened also, due to the light weight in her heart. Sakura looked to the side and saw a small motorcycle driving incredibly fast towards the older woman, and, automatically, Sakura ran across the area between her and Yelan, and pushed the woman down on the ground a few feet away from her spot, and they landed on their side with Sakura's arms around her. The motorcycle missed them by inches. By the time that any of them had reacted, the black bike had zoomed away and mixed itself into the busy street of the main road.

Sakura and Yelan finally realized that someone was really trying to kill her and her son.

* * *

_Okay, does this really count as a cliff-hanger? I honestly tried to make sure that it somehow doesn't, and that it was a conclusion. I hope that truly worked. -sweatdrop-_

_Anyway, let's see how fast I can update this time, then!_


	8. don't worry too much

_OKAY! So, apparently, the previous version of chapter seemed to have confused too many people . . . I've decided to rewrite it, as this you are reading right now is the new version. I apologize for the lack of information and subtlety; I hope this one will be better if you had come back. I didn't change the chapter too much, only the unnecessary pieces, so you needn't worry if you think you've missed something others are talking about._

_Disclaimer: Once I get my hands onto Sakura's cards and take over the universe, then yes, I will own Cardcaptor Sakura. Mark my words, that will happen. :)_

* * *

**8. **. . . don't worry too much . . .

"Oh GOD, Sakura, are you alright?" Tomoyo hurried over as she entered the room, and quickly pulled Sakura into a tight embrace with a worried look. When she pulled back, her eyes were scolding. "Why did you end up in a car accident again?"

"It was a motorcycle actually," Sakura smiled, but she cringed at the deadly threatening look on her friend's face as she clearly ignored that. Sakura rolled up her sleeves and revealed a few bandages and scrapes. "It was no big deal; really, I only got a few scratches this time."

"Still, that's horrible! How is it that - I mean, I know someone tried to hurt you before, but I didn't think they'd go this far as to stalking you all the way to the hospital! Ugh, this place also has horrible security. I'm going to hire a few extra bodyguards for you and Li-kun so I can have them shoot the person to the death when he finds you again, and then when the guy's dead, I'll walk over to his corpse myself and tear his body into shreds-"

"Oh, Tomoyo, calm down," Sakura interrupted, laughing awkwardly and patting her in the arm. The deadly look in her cousin's eyes sent a chilly shiver down Sakura's spine. "Actually, to be honest, I don't think the person was after me this time."

Suddenly blinking in curiosity, Tomoyo leaned forward in anticipation. "What? Why do you think that?"

"The person was trying to attack Sya-Li's mother," Tomoyo quirked an eyebrow at Sakura's stumble of words, but said nothing. "She was crossing the parking-lot to her car when this black motorcycle suddenly came out of nowhere and almost ran into her. I just hurried over and pushed her out of the way. Hadn't Eriol-kun told you this yet?"

Tomoyo shook her head, "No, he's been too busy handling all the paperwork and interviews lately; I haven't had a chance to talk with him. Besides, this just happened this afternoon."

"Yeah, I suppose. Poor Eriol-kun."

"So have you talked with Li-kun and his mother yet?"

"We have, but we didn't really get anywhere. Except, now, we really do know that someone is trying to hurt either Li or his mom, possibly because of something Li's father had done before he died." Sakura shrugged. "All I know is that a lot of people hated him, but that's not enough to figure out exactly who."

"That makes sense. Li-kun and his mom are in a lot of control over the Li cooperation, it's logical for them to be a target of ransom or murder so they can't run their businesses anymore."

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah."

"It's still horrible that you got sucked into this, though. You shouldn't have."

Sakura shrugged again. "It's not really their fault. I got myself into this, really."

"Oh!" Tomoyo suddenly started, and thrust her arms around Sakura's body to hug her. "I really hope they don't try to come after you now! That would be just horrible!"

Sakura laughed nervously into her friend's shoulder, and soon the laughter died off to a troubled frown. It would make sense for someone to come after her now, since Sakura might know too much already. Though the police had asked her if she could remember the license plate on the motorcycle, Sakura couldn't recall, but she did recall the faintest characteristics of the bike, such as the fact that it was all black, and was a Kawasaki. That wasn't nearly enough information, though; the hospital's security camera also proved that much.

However, Sakura was still sure that if she saw the bike again, she would recognize it somewhat.

And then speaking of another proof that someone was trying to murder Syaoran or Yelan, the tea Sakura had brought . . . But no, Kukai wasn't that kind of person. As far as Sakura believed, he was one of the sweetest guys she had met. He would definitely not do something like that, and there also wasn't enough proof that he was the suspect. Until Sakura herself collected enough information to prove Kukai guilty, she was not going to mention his name.

Biting her lip, she continued to frown, and Tomoyo's constant inquiries of information were drowned from her ears for a long time.

* * *

"I'm fine, really, please go back to the hospital and take care of Li-san," Sakura waved her hands at the two men behind her, who were sent to protect her on her way back to work. Though Sakura had insisted that she did not need bodyguards, Yelan forced her to think otherwise.

"At least have them drive you back," the older woman had said, her posture absolute. "If something happened to you that is linked to this case and we have to take responsibility, I do not want it to be that you rejected an offer and I was ruthless enough to not have cared of protecting you. When I have the power to prevent a bullet from shooting you in the head, I will use it, and you shall not say otherwise."

It was quite a scary experience, actually.

"Yelan-sama told you to sen- bring- escort-," Sakura sighed, "help me on my way to work, and I assure you this building has much better security now. Please. Li-san also needs you more than I do."

"Li-san already has five bodyguards," one of the men said quickly, and pulled his shades from his eyes to look at Sakura with blue orbs. The other man turned to him disapprovingly. "We are here to keep you from harm. You have already experienced enough issues in the past few weeks; I hope you understand that it is now the Li clan's responsibility to keep you safe."

"Yes, I do understand that, but you don't need to bother with me. Nothing will happen here."

"Sakura, you're-" an uncertain and troubled look arose on Kukai's face as he approached, and the bodyguard quickly put back on his shades and stared at him, "-busy. Right. I'll come back later then, or-"

"No! Wait!" Sakura reached out a hand, and turned back to the men in black. "Please, I'm totally fine here. Don't worry about me. If something happens, you'll be the first to know." Sakura tapped her pocket. "That's what this emergency locator is for, right?"

They were hesitant at first, but eventually bowed politely and cast one last look at Kukai, before leaving the building in a dark breeze. Sakura's coworkers all scattered to the side when they walked by. Heaving a sigh, she pulled on a smile and turned back to Kukai, who had reached her by then and held her hands.

"You really know how to get into trouble, you know," he said, squeezing her fingers. "I thought you just left the hospital last week, and just yesterday you were in it again."

"But I came back now, didn't I?"

"Hospitals are not safe places to be. Don't you ever go there again."

Sakura laughed half-heartedly, but the look on Kukai's face stopped her from that. She still smiled. "Don't worry, it was nothing big. I'm fine now; I just got a few cuts. And besides, Li is still there, so I'll have to visit him eventually."

"He has plenty of people who visit him, so why do you have to go?"

Surprised at the sudden desperation in his voice, Sakura blinked at him and flushed a light red, and looked at their intertwined hands. "I'm really glad you're worrying about me, but he's my friend, and he saved me during that _bigger_ car crash. I can't just stop visiting him anymore."

For a moment, Kukai just stared at her, and then finally he let out a sigh and pulled her to his frame, hugging her tightly. He breathed into her hair. "You're right, I'm sorry, I was just so worried about you."

She smiled and made a noise of a light-hearted decline. "I understand. Thank you, actually, and I'm sorry for making you so troubled."

He shook his head. "I needed to be," he said simply, and tugged at her hand to the elevator. "Do you have a lot of work to catch up?"

"Not too much, really, Hiiragizawa-kun did a fantastic job of keeping everything in check, and he also happens to have his own secretary, so I didn't have a lot of work to do." Sakura smiled happily. "So I'm actually, in some way, glad that I was in the hospital. It gave me an excuse to not do too much work and 'overstress' myself." Sakura giggled.

A small grin stretched across his face and Kukai hit the button to the elevator door, his fingers still laced with hers. "I suppose you're thinking of slacking off, then."

In mock-offense, Sakura dropped her jaw. "I do not _slack off_."

Kukai's grin grew wider. "Of course you don't."

The two entered the elevator, and thankfully it wasn't too full. A man was standing in one corner, and another blonde chick walked in with them, her stride overly-confident. Sakura found her vaguely familiar, but her view was somewhat blocked by the crush on her side. Kukai squeezed her hand and ducked his head to whisper to her.

"I heard that you got hurt because someone attacked you. Is that true?"

Sakura shook her head, and the small space dinged as the doors slid closed, and they started ascending. She leaned up to whisper back. "It was Li's mother who got attacked, I just saved her. Someone really is trying to corrupt the Li clan."

"It's gotten that serious?" Kukai sighed, frowning with concern. "And I suppose you're now dragged into the situation."

Sakura shrugged. "Yes, I suppose."

"The police know, right?"

He sounded anxious, and Sakura quickly comforted him with a squeeze in the fingers. "Yes, they know. Don't worry; I'm not going to get hurt any time soon."

Kukai nodded, and hesitated for a second, before leaning back to her again.

"Actually, I know you just came back, and you still might be somewhat busy," he twirled a strand of her hair, and despite the fact of knowing that there were other people in the room, Sakura only blushed and stared at him in awe, "I was wondering if you are busy tomorrow night. I thought that last time I didn't get the chance to welcome you back properly, maybe I can make it up to you on another date?"

With a fluttering heart, she accepted his offer and he smiled warmly, causing her stomach to do another cartwheel. He squeezed her hand again. "Great, I'll pick you up after work, or something, for dinner. You probably haven't eaten a good meal in a while."

Sakura shook her head. "I haven't."

Kukai kissed her cheek, blushing. "I'll see you then."

"Yeah," she whispered, her blood pounding in her ears. The doors opened, and Kukai quickly left the elevator with a teasing smirk. The other man in the elevator left too, catching up to him. Before the doors shut completely, Sakura saw his shoulders tense and his gaze harden as they met with the unidentified man. With a frown, Sakura leaned back against the elevator wall as she lurched up again.

"Aren't you Kinomoto Sakura?" A husky and feminine voice suddenly spoke up from besides her, and Sakura looked at the blonde in shock. She completely forgot that she was there. Sakura nodded.

"Yes, I am."

The beautiful woman twisted her lips up in somewhat of a smile, but it was too bitter to be friendly. She held out a hand. "I'm Satonshi Akira, Syaoran's fiancée. Surely you've heard of me besides that?"

At the word 'fiancée', Sakura immediately blinked in surprise and went speechless. The woman withdrew her hand, and that was the only way Sakura gathered back her senses and remembered how to speak. Sakura nodded. "Yes, aren't you . . . a model?"

A look akin to irritation flew across her face, but it disappeared as fast as it came. Akira smiled even more, and nodded confidently. "Yes, _AneCan_, you know? I've been the cover girl for a long time now."

"Right, I'm sorry. I just don't really look at fashion magazines that often."

Akira continued to smile a bitter smirk. "Of course that's understandable. I'm really glad you're alright, now, after you and Syaoran got hurt, of course. He's still recovering, but I'm glad my fiancé is alive. And you saved his mother. I thank you for that."

Her voice didn't sound thankful at all, Sakura noticed, but decided not to voice that out loud. Sakura only smiled back as smugly. "It's what I was supposed to do."

"Now that everything's fine, have you heard of our wedding approaching yet?"

_'Everything is _not_ fine,'_ Sakura wanted to bite out, but repressed that urge to scream at her. The thought of knowing that she was engaged to Syaoran only enraged her more; that did not make her more superior at all. Sakura knew that Syaoran might not even _like_ her. "No, I haven't."

"Well, it's in five months, I'm sure you will be invited." The smile on the woman's face was beautifully ugly, and Sakura bit her lip. "After all, Syaoran wouldn't forget to tell you such an important day as this."

"Of course he wouldn't," Sakura barely managed to say before the elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened. With a smug smile, Akira walked through the doors and turned back one last time with a wink. "Just so you know, I love perfumes."

The doors eventually shut, and started going back down. With a curse, Sakura realized that was where she was supposed to get off too, and the bitter taste in her mouth was noticeable when she realized Syaoran was in an arranged marriage with that kind of woman.

* * *

"Your fiancée is a terrible woman," Sakura bit out, ignoring Syaoran's faint greeting of a "hey" when she entered the room. That remark caught his attention, and he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard me. She's a little . . . wench." Crossing her arms, she sat down on the chair besides his bed, and glared at the TV showing a soccer game was going on. Syaoran turned down the volume, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"I see you've met Ms. Evil Cruella."

Sakura smiled. "I have."

"Well, that saves me a lot of time from spending possibly a whole day to express my despise for that woman." Syaoran was brooding. "I can't believe I'm engaged to her."

"I'm assuming that you don't like her?" Sakura inquired curiously. Curiously, just so everyone was clear. Whoever said otherwise should get their heads checked.

He turned to her with a horrified look on his face. "Like her? I don't even _want_ to like her. That bi- woman is going to be the downfall of my life."

Sakura was glaring at him even as he finished, considering he almost said something horribly rude in front of a dignified lady such as her. She huffed, and crossed her arms again. "Good; so you do have a brain."

"I appreciate the accommodation," he said sarcastically, frowning.

"If you hate her so much, why is your mother still set on having her engaged to you?"

"My mother's not. Not really, at least. It's the Elders who want her to marry me because she's from a wealthy family who works with the government. If we get linked somehow, then the Li clan basically has full control over everything." He huffed as well. "Though I don't see why it's such a big deal; we already have enough money. They just want me to marry some snobby rich chic because the Elders don't know how to make better money for themselves."

"And you can do that?"

"Of course I can," Syaoran said, but his voice was a tone lighter. "I'm as good as my dad, if not better."

"Well, you're a man of your own," Sakura said, feeling a little guilty at teasing him in that particular subject. "You should definitely stand up to the Elders and say that reason."

Syaoran smiled drily. "And what? Have them disown me?"

"Better than control you."

Syaoran grunted, but didn't make a comment. Seeing that as a sign of encouragement, Sakura continued. "You do have an excuse for living independently now. Because of your dad, people are trying to hurt you, but you're also a target because you're connected to someone as powerful as the Elders. The people can't hurt the Elders because they are too powerful, but once you stop whatever control they have over you, it would be harder for others to touch you, then. You're not the knight in this game; you'll be the King."

Syaoran started to smirk. "That's the wisest thing I've heard you say ever since I met you so many months ago."

"Oh, please, I'm trying to help you here."

Syaoran breathed in loudly and leaned his head back against the bed, closing his eyes. There was a tension near his lips that wasn't there before, and Sakura couldn't help but notice how stressed he'd become since the crash. He also had gotten slightly thinner. "Eriol said something very similar to what you just said before."

"Really," Sakura said.

"I didn't listen to him."

"And you'll listen to me?"

That seemed to have hit a spot, as Syaoran's shoulders suddenly tensed even further and he held his breath. Sakura held hers too, eyes wide, and suddenly Syaoran turned his head towards her and opened his own. If she had the strength to move under his intense gaze, she would've gasped upon seeing the brilliant dark amber. He smiled a little.

"I think I can try."

She was blushing before she even realized it, so, quickly, she cleared her throat and ducked her head, which caused Syaoran to look back at the TV screen with an uncertain look on his face. Even though it was really only a short period of time that she and Syaoran truly became friends, knowing him for many months was enough for her to realize how amazing of a person he was. Despite the fact that she'd persuaded herself that he was a taken a man, and she, hopefully, would be taken by someone else too, that didn't help her heart from fluttering erratically ever since he saved her in the crash, and, more profoundly, since he smiled at her when she visited him with her mother.

They had been acquaintances when they were at work; funny enough, being his secretary also consisted the work of being aware of Syaoran's habits or the way he finished his job. She'd learned plenty of things about him without even having to wonder, or spend a lot of time with him. It surprised her how much she unconsciously noticed about the man throughout the short span of time, and it surprised her even more when she just recently realized she didn't actually mind knowing so much about him.

Smiling ironically, she recalled the first time they interacted with each other; he still teased her constantly about that, but now their awkward and slightly-irritating relationship had developed as far as him being an important person in her life now. It wasn't only because of the fact that he protected her from getting hurt, and he had to suffer greatly from that, but along the lines of spilt coffee, rude remarks, eye-rolling, and tossed, crumpled paper did Sakura realize that she was truly starting to find him endearing.

But that was an impossible subject to preach upon, and she knew that. However, knowing that Syaoran might break off the engagement after hearing her speech gave her a spark of hope and longing. She took a peak at him from the corner of her eyes, taking him in from the strong set of his jaw to the deep thoughtfulness in his gaze. She could hardly believe that she never thought him to be a possible bachelor before . . . well, she had, actually, but that was before he started bullying her when he realized who she was and had turned his life upside down in a circle.

Never mind that, Sakura was suddenly entranced with the tingling sensation in her fingers that she immediately lost her train of thought. The tips of her mouth pointed downwards in bewilderment, and her eyebrows rose when she saw that he was hooking his long digits with hers, almost absentmindedly. She sure could not tell by the look on his face whether he was doing it intentionally or not; either way, Sakura blew red again.

_'Oh God, I really need to get a hold of myself,'_ she thought, biting her lip.

A turn of his head suddenly caught her attention, and Sakura's eyes immediately trailed up to his. Green met bright brown in a battle of intensity, and for a moment Sakura wondered if he was trying to read her soul. She was sure it was plainly written on her face, what she was thinking, but she liked it when he looked so concentrated. She felt like she was suddenly enveloped in a safe embrace, despite the fact that they were barely touching.

She didn't even notice his hand near her cheek until they came in contact, and her breath hitched as she blinked while his finger stroked her barely. There was something hard in his eyes, and it was too deep for her to read. Unconsciously, Sakura tilted her head forward when he leaned towards her, and his lips just grazed the corner of her mouth when Eriol suddenly burst into the room, a folder in his hands.

"I _hate_ doing your paperwork, you little brat," he was yelling, and the two froze at his outburst. Quickly, the air hung a silent tension that built up within Syaoran's form, and Eriol started to back out of the room. Sakura jumped from her chair all the way to the other wall and stared at the two in shock.

"Hate?" Syaoran calmly asked, but his eyes were flaming with built-up wrath. "Let me show you what hate really his, son of a bitch."

Eriol shouted and darted out of the room, with Syaoran, despite injured, hot at his heels, and the two yelled down the hospital hallway.

* * *

Despite that terrifying encounter, Sakura's memories of it were quickly washed away when she went out for her date with Kukai. The dinner went excessively smooth, and she was even invited to his apartment for some tea and casual chatting.

She was laughing when she got out of his car after they arrived at his apartment building, but it was raining slightly, and the two jogged to the entrance of the door before she waited patiently for him to unlock it. With a sudden start of recognition, Sakura stared at a motorcycle right in front of the door sitting almost alone in the half-empty parking lot. Her eyes furrowed in confusion, but Kukai suddenly pulled on her arm and into the dry hallway. He laughed as he shook his hair, and rain pattered on the ground. Hesitantly, Sakura smiled as well.

When they arrived at his apartment, Kukai quickly went to the bathroom to get them a couple of towels. Sakura thanked him when he came back with one for her, and he walked away again to the kitchen to boil her some tea. Sakura followed.

"Are you sharing this apartment with anyone?" She asked in curiosity, noting another set of cups in the cupboards. They were much simpler than the ones he was taking out. Kukai nodded.

"Yeah, but he's not here this weekend. And neither are a lot of people in this building, actually, since it's close to Thanksgiving. I think the only people in this section of the building left are me and these elderly couple downstairs."

_'Can old people ride motorcycles?' _Sakura wondered to herself, before laughing mentally. _'Of course they can, riding motorcycles isn't that hard.'_ She paused then, biting her lip. _'But that bike . . . It's really familiar. Kukai . . . Kukai couldn't have been-"_

"Here," said man suddenly interrupted her thoughts, and handed her a mug of water with a tea-bag in it. He smiled when she took it with a murmured thanks. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"A lot of fun," she said, nodding. The two walked back to the living room and sat on his couch. "I wish we could do it again."

"We definitely should," he said, agreeing, and turned on the TV. As she sipped quietly on her own tea, Kukai looked at her expectantly. "Sakura?"

She looked at him wide-eyed. "Yeah?"

"You don't happen to . . . like Li-san, do you?"

"Like him?" Sakura asked, blinking, and flushing slightly at a sudden image that sprung to her mind that happened the previous day. "Well, he's not a bad guy, so yes; I like him as a friend." She paused. "Why?"

He looked hesitant. "Well, it's just, the way you talk about him," he smiled a little sadly, "makes me think that you see him as more of a friend."

Sakura was shocked. "Why do you say that?"

"When you were talking about him yesterday, you also said he was a friend. But you really looked – happier, when you were saying that."

Her eyebrows were raised to her hairline by then. "I was?"

"I'm not meaning for this to make things awkward, Sakura," Kukai said, blushing, but there was something else in his expression that made Sakura's stomach flip, "but I really like you, and I was really hoping that we could start something serious after this."

"Serious?" Sakura whispered nervously; Kukai set his cup down to lean towards her.

"I'm not pushing you now, I'd never do that, but I hope you know that you can always trust me. I really want you to believe me, Sakura." He was just near her lips now, and his breath was fanning her face hotly. Her own face was burning. "Can you do that?"

Sakura held her breath, her eyes as wide as saucers. Slowly, she nodded, a strange tingling in her whole body until his lips met hers, and she closed her eyes, feeling his fingers thread through her hair. Her heart pounded furiously against her chest, and she opened her eye just a little to see a burst of shocking brown hair, so familiar to her, but not in the way of reminding her of Kukai. She squeezed her eyes shut again, hoping that would help her from her hallucinations.

That didn't help; he must've felt her trembling beneath her touch, since he slowly drew away and frowned. With shaky breaths, Sakura leaped up from the couch and covered her flaming cheeks with her hands, and Kukai sat bewildered as she started trotting back and forth between his sofa and the TV. She shook her head frantically, wondering vaguely why the image of a certain dark-amber-eyed man kept popping into her mind uninvited, and that only made her blush some more. She lifted her eyes to meet Kukai's and tried to speak to him again, but the way he had just talked to her . . . It suddenly didn't feel right.

She felt like she was somehow being brainwashed.

"Sakura?" he asked with a quiet voice, his eyes concerned as he stood up to take her by the arms and dragged them from her face. "Are you alright?"

"I-I'm-yes, I'm fine, I'm sorry," she stuttered, eyebrows furrowing. Kukai continued to coax her.

"Did I offend you somehow? I'm sorry; it must've been too fast for you."

_'No kidding,'_ Sakura thought, but she couldn't say that out loud. Not when the man's gaze in front of her seemed so worried and caring; she couldn't hurt his feelings when he'd been so considerate of hers. He was a wonderful guy; he wouldn't deserve to be hurt.

But no, there was something odd about him. She couldn't exactly see him as the guy she went out with for coffee on their first date; no, that guy was . . . He seemed _innocent_. There had been something down-to-earth and childish to his personality when she was with him that day; now, he just seemed . . . somehow unctuous.

"I'm really sorry," Sakura pulled away; a look of hurt flashed across his face, and she would've run back into his arms if not for the sudden anger that took place instead. A chill ran down her spine, and she quickly backed to his doorway and retrieved her coat and shoes. "I think I'd better go; it's going to pour soon, and I don't want to get home too late."

"I understand," he said gently, but he followed her as she got dressed. She was avoiding looking at his eyes, and was thankful that she couldn't tell if he was really irritated or not. "I could drive you home."

"That's unnecessary, but thank you," she quickly replied, already opening the door. When she looked back, Kukai looked normal again, though there was this tenseness set in his shoulders that Sakura didn't particularly like. She was utterly confused. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes," he said shortly, nodding his head.

With a shaky breath, Sakura said goodbye again, and left the room before she could see what kind of man Kukai really was.

The bike outside his doorway was suddenly so familiar that Sakura almost screamed.

* * *

_Yes, yes, hate me all you want. I ended it with a cliff-hanger again, boo-hoo for me._

_-sniff- But I'm sorry, I could not help it. -sniff- I was born this way!_

_-takes a deep breath- Anyhow, it's actually almost done. Surprise, surprise. Yes, this story is VERY short. Short than most of what you've guys read, I bet. I only planned for it to be, like, ten chapters, I think. Maybe eleven. Despite the fact that there were very little SakuraxSyaoran moments, I tried to squeeze in their improving friendship somewhat. How did it go?_

_Anyway, if you really do hope that I could somehow improve their relationship, go ahead and say it. I'll try to fix it then. I didn't plan for it to seem so hurried in the beginning, so that was some sort of a fail. ^^'_


	9. Just remember that

_Wow, I cannot believe it's been nearly two months since I updated. I apologize for the delay, and Happy late Thanksgiving to all of you!_

_Disclaimer: I will destroy the universe once I get my hands on this series . . . I think I said this before._

* * *

**9. **. . . Just remember that . . .

"I see you finally remembered me," Syaoran said, smirking, one eyebrow arched and sitting on his bed. Sakura gave him a look and walked over with a bouquet of flowers in her hands. "I was hurt, you know, thinking that you forgot me. How will you ever make up the pain you inflicted upon my heart?"

"Oh, quit the drama," Sakura replied, a smile tugging at her lips. She fluffed the flowers, straightening them in the vase next to his bed, and turned to look at what he was watching on the TV. "Is that a soap opera?"

"Nothing to do with soap, nor opera, so no, that is not a soap opera."

Sakura swatted him on the arm - as gently as possible.

After he finally stopped chuckling and Sakura sat down on the side of his bed, he sent her an interested look. "So where were you these days? You weren't with Daidouji."

"How did you know?" she asked, pulling adsent-mindedly at the fizz on his blankets. Syaoran shrugged.

"She was with Eriol, and he said you weren't with them at all." Then, he scrunched up his nose. "I would understand why; they went suit-fitting for him, and I heard the woman forced him to where nearly twenty outfits." Sakura choked a laugh. "Yes, that's exactly what Eriol sounded like when he called me. Except he didn't seem happy."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if it was Tomoyo. She likes forcing people to do stuff. That's why we all love her."

Syaoran rolled his eyes with a small smile.

"Hey, aren't you stuffed in here?" Sakura suddenly asked, trying to change the subject and refrain him from asking another one. "I'm hot, and I doubt you've been outside today."

"Not yet."

"Let's go to the yard, then."

Sighing, Syaoran frowned and stared at her. "But I hate wheelchairs."

"Can't you at least use crutches, then? It's been nearly a month. Your leg should be fine now, it's just your arm."

"My doctor is stupid."

Sakura swatted his arm again, and stood up. "I'll let you use crutches. Your doctor's not stupid enough to check on you every five minutes to see what you're doing. Come on."

"Well then, if you must," Syaoran said, and grunted as he tried to stand up. "I think I've gained weight and lost muscles. I feel fat."

Sakura laughed, biting her lip to keep her laugh down. With a mock-hurt look, Syaoran looked to the side and sighed again. "Oh no, there goes my heart, breaking again."

"Just get up, will you?" Sakura choked out, pulling him up. On the other side of the room she got his crutches, and handed them to him. "Are you going to be alright?" She asked, still smiling. "Have you used them?"

"Yes, many times when I was younger." He let her lead him out of the doorway and to the elevator.

"What trouble did you get to when you were small?" Sakura teased, and in return Syaoran rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you know the usual. Cutting off my cousin's hair, chasing my sisters around, setting Eriol's room on fire-"

"You're kidding." Sakura cut in, her eyes wide. "You must be joking."

He smirked. "I am."

"Well, I'm sure you're still a horrible kid when you were. I bet you gave Yelan tons of headaches."

"Will you quit hurting my feelings?" Syaoran gasped, leaning against the wall when they reached into the elevator. Sakura pressed the button to the first floor. "Seriously, is this why you came? To pain me even more?"

With a small pout, Sakura crossed her arms and leaned on the opposite wall, not looking at him. Though she was smiling a little, there was a flash of guilt in her eyes. "No," she replied shortly, her voice too soft to be cheerful.

Syaoran's expression softened a little, and teasing turned into forgiveness. He tilted his head back against the wall, looking at her through thick eyelashes. "No, I don't suppose you are. You make me far too happy to seem like you're hurting me."

Sakura blushed, ducking her head, and the man across from her grinned in amusement. Sputtering, she said, "W-well, I, uh, thanks. I wouldn't ever mean to hurt you, I mean, not after what happened. Yeah, and you're recovering, so that's good. I wouldn't, um, want to castrate you again-"

"Quick stuttering," Syaoran cut her off, his eyebrows arched in laughter. "I know," Just before the elevator stopped and the bell dinged, he leaned forward, whispering close to her ear, "thank you for caring."

If it was possible, Sakura blushed even more, dumbfounded as he walked through the doors that opened, and looked embarrassingly at the people sending her curious looks when they entered. She quickly stood up and caught up to him, a silly smile on her face.

"So, then, has anything interesting happened while I'm gone?" Syaoran piped up, walking with her under the shades of the trees along the path to the backyard. "How's the company? I bet they must be a mess without me. They love me."

"Ha, yes, they do," Sakura replied, and though she meant to sound sarcastic, it was true. Though it's been a month, there were always at least one person everyday who walked up to her and asked her how he was. And occasionally, he still received gifts from them in his room. "The company is doing . . . well, I suppose. Poor Eriol's been busy day and night."

"He must be."

"But he doesn't mind," she quickly added, in case he started to feel bad. "I mean, he's working very hard, and I'm sure he wouldn't if he hated what he's doing. He cares a lot about you."

Syaoran smiled, and sat down on a bench under the sunlight, tilting his head up towards the light blue sky. He hummed in acknowledgement, a fond look on his face.

"Shodka's been bothering us a lot lately, though," Sakura continued, seeming a little troubled. "They keep sending emails to me, saying that our service is still lacking. One person even had the guts to say that we're going to regret it."

"Regret what?" Syaoran asked, quickly annoyed by the mention of their name.

Sakura shrugged. "Regret how we're managing our company, I suppose." She scoffed. "Like _they_ are so much better than us."

"Yes, well, just ignore them. They're not bothering _you_ too much, are they?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine. I don't think they're still rude enough to anger me, considering what happened."

Syaoran frowned. "Yeah."

"But other than that, everything else is fine. All the workers are doing their jobs, and all the jobs are being carried on. It's just as if you were there. The only thing is that the Elders keep calling or paying unexpected visits to the office since Eriol's there, and you're not, and apparently, 'Eriol is not fit for the job!'" Sakura tried to mimic the voice of one female elder at the office one day, talking to Yelan. Sakura frowned in annoyance and sympathy for Eriol.

"Yes, well, the clan can definitely go screw themselves," Syaoran muttered, and Sakura gasped at his language, smiling. "They all have sticks shoved up in their asses."

"Syaoran!" She scolded half-heartedly, swatting him once more. This time, he flinched a little and glared at her.

"Would you quit hitting me?" He exclaimed, eyes laughing. "I wouldn't mind if you were hitting _on_ me, but physical abuse is not endearing at all."

Sakura blushed again, looked and away and crossed her arms. She still smiled, pinching her lips together. "Well, get used to it. I only hit people, don't hit _on_ them. If you expect anything other than that, you picked the wrong person."

He smirked and tilted his head back, closing his eyes as well. He was quiet for a moment, both simply savoring the presence of each other after so many weeks, and Sakura looked at him curiously as if waiting for him to say something.

"By the way," he suddenly broke the silence, causing Sakura to glance up at him in surprise, "I've always wanted to ask you how you got so close to my mother." He turned a little, a dark brow furrowed. "I don't think I've thanked you yet for saving her. Have I?"

"No, and now's not too late," she said, and smiled. "She invited me to your place a couple days after you first woke up. You wouldn't know, of course, since you fell back to sleep like a pig."

Syaoran rolled his eyes, but ignored that. Instead, he looked interested. "So what did she say to you?"

"She explained to me about the clan, your arranged marriage, your, um, father, and," Sakura broke off, a little embarrassed to continue, and looked off to the side, "uh, amongst other things."

Syaoran's eyebrows furrowed and he nodded in understanding, giving out a soft 'oh'. "So, you know about what happened, then? The plane crash."

"Yes, it sounded awful. I'm so sorry."

Syaoran smiled a little. "I thought we went over this? There's no need for you to apologize."

"I still feel horrible," she said, frowning. "That's why you have so many burdens on your shoulders. All the other male Li's were killed."

"Yes, and . . . I'm not sure if she told you, but we think it might've been murder."

Sakura nodded grimly, her lips pressed straight. "Yes, it's horrible."

"But it all makes sense, in some way," Syaoran continued, not sounding necessarily sensitive about this subject. "Someone killed my father, the most powerful man in the Li clan, and now they're trying to destroy the next generation. And maybe . . . maybe the whole family."

"They've tried to kill you and your mother because you are the only one capable of carrying on the Li blood and name," Sakura added, nodding as the pieces are fit together. "But do you know who is able to do that?"

"Someone powerful," he answered, and bit his lip. "Though not as powerful as us, otherwise he wouldn't think we are a threat or should be destroyed."

"Do you think it's possible that they might be in our company?" Sakura suddenly asked, thinking about the man she spent the evening with a couple days earlier. Troubled and a little hurt, she hoped Syaoran was going to say no.

Instead, he nodded his head, narrowing his eyes, and she slumped in disappointment, "It might be possible."

"Well, then, you'd better recover quickly and catch him." She said, grinning hesitantly. "We need you back there, and we need to find him fast before he attacks again."

Syaoran didn't reply, still looking thoughtful for the next few moments, and then he finally sighed and rubbed his temples. His voice rumbled lowly when he closed his eyes and asked her, "So what else did my mother talk to you about?"

"Your arranged wedding," Sakura said. She frowned. "I still hate your fiancée."

Syaoran smirked. "Smart girl."

"She said the Elders can't find anyone else who is more 'suitable' to carry on the Li name," she continued with disgust, and rolled her eyes. "Though I highly doubt that she's able to do anything other than pose for camera lenses."

"Very true. She's not capable of bearing such a responsibility considering she has absolutely no experience. She's just wealthy. But," Syaoran leaned back, shrugging, "quantity over quality, right? The Elders only care about that."

"It's horrid. I can imagine her corrupting the whole clan. She's not even that nice."

"She's not. Worse than my ex."

"I remember her!" Sakura exclaimed, but her smile quickly turned into a frown. "She was horrible, too. And what is with blondes? Heck, this is Japan! There's not even many natural blondes here!"

Syaoran smirked once more. "Very true, again." He sighed, looking up. "The women who try to look foreign bug me. Looking natural is just much more appealing. And besides, I have a thing for brunettes."

Sakura's heart skipped, and she took one quick peek at her light-brown hair, before looking away, blinking. Syaoran noticed that, smiling. "Did my mother say anything else to you?"

"Well, that was mostly it. We talked mostly about what we," she gestured between her and Syaoran, "were just talking about. Although, at first, she did talk a little about . . . us."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Us?'

Sakura nodded, and sensing her embarrassment, Syaoran continued. "What us?"

"Well, you know," the young woman muttered, looking to the side and trying to feign casual, "she thought we had some other relationship out of the office. Other than friends."

"Lovers?" Syaoran suggested, nearly laughing when she flushed the fifth time –at least- that afternoon.

"Kinda, I guess, well," Sakura looked absolutely flustered, "I suppose, friends with benefits."

Syaoran threw his head back and laughed, causing Sakura to redden even more. She pouted. "It's so not funny!"

"I can never imagine you doing that with anyone," he said, trying to repress his chuckling. Eventually, when she didn't say anything, he threw his arms behind the bench they were sitting on and smirked. "And besides, I'd kill whatever man who would suggest that to you."

"Thanks a lot," she said, rolling her eyes.

"It must've been awkward for you, talking with my mother about that, and all."

"You have no idea."

"Well then," he smiled, grinning way too funnily to seem completely kind, "I'll have to thank her for that some day."

Sakura tried to retort, but the minute she opened her mouth, she closed them, and leaned back, ducking her head at a particular wind that gusted their way. She glared at him still, while he merely smiled back, smug.

Though was oddly comfortable for winter, there was a chilly breeze blowing around them. After a while of silence, Sakura shivered a little, the wind hitting her neck. Syaoran turned his head and looked at her. "You cold?"

"A little, yeah," she replied, nodding sheepishly. He looked at the thin coat she had on, and it obviously wasn't meant for windy weather. He sighed, holding an arm out.

"Come here."

Sakura's face turned red, and Syaoran immediately smirked. He laughed, quirking an eyebrow. "See now?" He teased, but his eyes were not necessarily amused. "You're face is turning pink from the cold. Come over here."

"I'm . . . not _too_ cold," she murmured, but sat closer to him anyway. She let him gently wrap an arm around her shoulder, and savored the warmth that his broad chest gave off to her cheek. Sakura smiled, blushed prettily once more, and placed her own hand on his further shoulder. He breathed warmly into her hair, tickling her face a little.

"I hope you get out soon," she quietly mumbled, closing her eyes. "I miss you in the office."

"It does feel strange without you around," Syaoran admitted, tightening his grip around her.

"What, you're lonely without me?" Sakura suggested teasingly, grinning.

"Yeah," he replied, taking her by surprise. She looked up at him, her green eyes wide, taking in his smiling amber. "More than you would know."

Heart beating and a little trembling, Sakura closed her small fists around the shirt of his coat, blinking a little in bashfulness as he slowly leaned down, his eyes set on her lips. Occasionally, his gaze flicked up, silently inquiring if it was okay, and he brushed his mouth across her cheek, lightly, setting her face on fire. Sakura tilted her face up even more when he kissed her temple, her forehead, and her nose. Finally, his lips landed on its destined destination, and she closed her eyes in bliss.

Too quickly for the both of them, Syaoran reluctantly pulled away for them to catch their breaths, both their faces flushed. He traced a finger absentmindedly across her face, blinking lazily at her and drawing light circles on her skin. She smiled, quirking an eyebrow.

"You've wanted to do that for a while, huh?"

"Of course not," he lied, and pulled away. They both looked up, seeing the sun was already setting for the afternoon, and then he looked back. "Let's go back to my room."

* * *

"You never did answer me," Syaoran said when they arrived in his medical confinement, and he sat down on his bed. "You know, about what you were doing these days."

Sakura, still a little embarrassed about what just happened earlier, shrugged. "Oh, nothing, you know. Just working in the office and hanging with my friends, of course."

"What friends?"

"Friends in the building."

For a while, Syaoran looked blank, but then a quick narrow of his eyes told her he didn't completely believe her. He threw his legs up on the bed and lay back as she sat down on a chair not too far away. "You weren't with that Kukai guy, were you?"

Sakura blinked in surprise. "You remember him?"

"Were you?"

"Well," Sakura started, and then, looking a little uncomfortable and shamed, she looked down at her lap. "He asked me for dinner to welcome me back. That's all. All because I recovered."

"And you said yes?" His voice sounded incredulous, his eyes a little wide and fogged with something else.

"He was a good friend! I couldn't just reject him."

"Did you guys just eat dinner?" He continued, and she glared at him a little, warning him not to go on, but he still did. "Or did you do something else? He didn't take advantage of you, did he?"

"No, he-"she broke off, uncertain of whether it was true. But Sakura quickly recovered. "I mean, I went to his house for some tea, and stuff, but he-"

"You went to his house?" Syaoran sounded even more incredulous, his angered voice startling the nurse that was walking in. She looked uncertainly at the two.

"Li-san? Your medicine is here, as well as your dinner."

"I'm not hungry," Syaoran replied gruffly, looking away to the side as the two women in the room exchanged looks.

"Just leave it on the table is fine," Sakura replied instead, smiling apologetically. The nurse complied, setting the tray on the table right next to Syaoran's bed, and bowed a little as she walked out. Sakura immediately turned on him.

"That was completely rude. And eat your food, or it's going to get cold."

"I'm not hungry," Syaoran grounded out again, and turned to glare at her. "So, you went to his house. What did you do? Sleep with him?"

"No!" Sakura exclaimed, looking appalled. Her face was flushed with bemusement this time. "How could you say that? We did nothing of that sort."

"Then what did you do?"

"That's none of your business."

"It is my business. You were the one who just suggested if the person who was trying to kill me might be in the company, and now you're telling me you're off with some Kukai guy that asked you out days after you recovered from a car crash. Don't you think that's suspicious?"

"It's not suspicious," she said, a little hurt. "Kukai is not a bad guy, and how would you know? You don't even know him. And sure, we did kiss a little at his place, but it's not like it's a big deal!"

Syaoran had turned slightly pale by then, his eyes wide with surprise and something not unlike betrayal. Ashamed that she just said that, Sakura closed her mouth and blinked at him, her eyes watering from anger and guilt. She looked away for a moment, and then looked back. "I mean, I-"

"Of course it's a big deal," Syaoran cut in, his amber eyes blazing. "It's a big deal to me, because I thought that after we kissed-"

Surprised, he broke off, looking away at her in anger at himself. Disappointed that he stopped, and hopeful that he would continue, Sakura stared at him for a moment and flinched when he cursed softly, fisting his hands into his blankets. For a long while, the atmosphere in the room was tense, and it was only set ablaze when Syaoran quickly turned and snatched his cup of medicine from the tray and lifted it to his mouth.

Suddenly, Sakura jumped up and reached a hand out, having the sudden feeling that something was terribly wrong and out of place. "Stop!" She cried, her eyes set on the cup in Syaoran's hand. Her reaction caused him to jump, and he spilt the medicine over his shirt and blanket. The liquid turned the white sheet a sick yellow color, and she knew immediately that wasn't supposed to happen. The medicine was mostly water; it shouldn't contain anything that would stain.

Bewildered and obviously confused, Syaoran looked at her as she snatched the cup from his hand, and looked at it. Of course she knew it was familiar. Sakura was also hurt.

Although there were plenty of cups looked and shaped like this out in this world, when she added up all the things that happened in the past month, there was no mistake that it was Kukai who was trying to hurt Syaoran all this time.

* * *

_Finally, I've got that out. I'm slightly embarassed, though, that all of you figured out what happened before I even gave out subtle hints. Well, that's what I get for trying to write a mystery. ^^'_

_Anyway, this chapter was far too short for my liking, but I suppose it's got a lot cleared out. The original version of this chapter was much shorter, and it didn't have enough SyaoranxSakura moments because Eriol and Tomoyo were with them, and I knew that THAT wasn't going to work. So, here you go. The next few chapters will be some sort of a cleanup, I guess._

_And it should come out within a month, because that is when I have my next school break. Excited for that. Maybe I can even write two chapters for the next update! Let us cross our fingers, my friends._


	10. somewhere in the world

_Disclaimer: What is this, I don't even -_

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**10**.. . . somewhere in the world . . .

"Kukai?" Sakura quietly asked. The man halted his tracks with a small jolt before turning to her in surprise. His hair, wild and probably uncombed, fell across his eyes in a shadow as he stared at her while she walked towards him and Sakura swallowed. Kukai's smile was warm, but his eyes were not. "Hey."

"Good morning," he replied, and then looked around at the people entering the building, his gaze wearing a curious mask. "You're rather early today. Usually you don't come to work until nine," he teased, but when Sakura didn't smile, his smirk fell too. "Is something wrong?"

"Can I talk to you in private?" She asked, and when Kukai nodded, she led them to a small deserted hallway, reaching for his hand. "I have something to ask you."

"What is it?" His voice was concerned. Sakura took a deep breath, her green eyes fogged over and darkened while she stared down at their interlaced fingers and she frowned.

"Is there something between you and the Li family that I should know?" she quietly inquired, not daring to look into his eyes. Kukai's breath caught. "Who are you, really? Were you the one behind everything that's happened?"

"What are you talking about?" He breathed, reaching out a hand to cup Sakura's cheek. She felt a great urge to slap him away, but she didn't. "Sakura, what's wrong?"

"I know now. I know everything that's happened and how, and I know that it's you who's been trying to hurt Syaoran and his mother." She looked up then, orbs narrowed and serious as they pierced into wide brown eyes. "I just want you to tell me it's true. If you confess, maybe things will be easier for you. Maybe, if you turn yourself in, you'd have less punishment. Before it's too late, Kukai!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he protested, taking back his hand as if she'd scorched him. His expression wasn't warm anymore. "I had nothing to do with any of this. How could you think so?"

"I think so because I saw the bike at your apartment," she began, counting off the proofs in her head. "It was the same black bike the man drove that nearly killed Yelan-sama. I'd recognize it anywhere."

"That's not my bike. It's my roommate's."

"I already found your roommate," Sakura quickly said, tightening her hold on him. "I know him too. He was the one who ran after you after you got off the elevator when you asked me on that date some time days ago. I already found him suspicious then. The police are interrogating him right now, so we'll know pretty quickly what exactly happened."

"Well then, you should be with him, shouldn't you, if you're so determined to make me guilty," Kukai smiled bitterly, drawing away from her. His glare was menacing and dark, and Sakura suddenly felt a tinge of regret and a want to see his characteristic smile again. But she couldn't back down now. "You still don't have enough proof, though. Do you have any fingerprints? Photos? Actual information to confirm that I'm the culprit?"

"We searched in the records for information about the crash; the bus that hit us belonged to a person, and we found that he was directly linked to Shodka. When we went to investigate there, we saw a security camera showing a video of you going there the afternoon we crashed. That's awfully suspicious to us when you're working here."

"I had a friend there," he said stiffly, determined to keep his face blank and succeeding at it. Sakura sighed mentally. "You can't say that I don't have any free will to go anywhere just because I work here."

"I also recognized the cup from your house in your cupboard that you brought to Syaoran yesterday. You mixed medicines with the hospital and almost fed Syaoran poison. You let your guard down."

"Why would I need to? I have nothing to hide. And you can't base off information from something you just _saw_. It's not proof. I bet the cup doesn't have any fingerprints on it, either."

"The police found an empty box that used to have sodium hydroxide in the dumpsters from your apartment house; the box had your fingerprints. The cup you gave to Syaoran was filled with the chemical. How can I believe that you _weren't_ planning to do anything harmful?"

Kukai was shaking slightly, his fists trembling while he glared at her, his thin lips pursed in an attempt to appear calm. Sakura was worried for a moment that he would do something aggressive, something even more horrible. Quickly, she reached for him again, and though he flinched at her touch, he didn't pull away this time. "Please, Kukai, don't do anything stupid. So far you haven't really hurt anyone so it's not too late to turn back! Just turn yourself in and everything will be alright."

"Everything _won't_ be alright, Sakura," he said to her, and in turn, he grasped her wrist. She looked at him in shock. "Can't you see that I've already gone too far? That I'm already suspicious of doing so many horrible things? The police are not going to let me off this case, and my life will never be the same if I turn myself in. I've already gotten to here; how can I turn back now?"

"I know you're not a bad person, Kukai," she said firmly. "You're good inside, I know that. That's why I believe that, in time, everyone will forgive you; you won't be punished if you be honest. I know that if you continue like this, you'll be sure to be punished even more. Please," Sakura reached up to touch his face, and felt the muscle in his jaw jump underneath her fingertips, his other hand clamping down harder against her wrist, but she did not back down, "do the right thing for once."

"I've never been doing the right thing," he whispered to her then, sounding almost desperate. He was trembling against her, his face twisting into a strangled frown. Kukai breathed and closed his eyes, a fine line creased between his dark brows until he opened them again, looking at her with sadness in his eyes that Sakura's never seen before. "It's not like I wanted to do any of this. I was just angry. You don't know how much my family has suffered because of the Li's. My dad died from heartbreak when his small antique shop went bankrupt because of them. The rest of the family were tight on money, we quickly fell to debt. When my mother got sick, the hospital wouldn't give her treatment because the bank wouldn't lend us more money, and she's _still_ in the hospital. Shodka offered to clear our debt when they said that I had to kill the Li generation, and they'd also help my mother. How could I have passed on an opportunity like that?"

"Well-killing is not the way!" Sakura exclaimed; she was starting to sweat. "You're still so young, too young to do something like this. Didn't you know what kind of risk you were signing up for?"

"The Li's did many horrible things; the world wouldn't care at all if anything bad happened to them. They deserve to die."

"The person who deserved to die is already dead," she said in a deadly tone, and Kukai blinked at her, "and that's Syaoran's father. His father was a horrible man, but now that he's gone, every Li is trying their best to make up for what he did when he was alive. Syaoran's mother is bearing tons amounts of burdens on her shoulders alone to recover all the relationships he's broken; Eriol isn't even supposed to be here, but because he is related to the family, he has to run this company in danger of you because he knew the Li's needed him; Syaoran is one of the kindest men I've ever met. You don't know how wonderful the Li family is and what they've done in the past few years, and killing them will do you no good. You have no idea what you're doing."

"You're defending them so much," Kukai said to her, sounding a little lost. "How would you know how I feel when I saw my own family fall apart because of what the man did? One man is enough to prove that the clan is not as good as they appear to be. You detest me so much because of this mistake I've made, but you don't think they have flaws?"

"Of course they have flaws," she said, biting and releasing her lip. "Everybody has flaws, but what matters is what they do to correct them. I love you, Kukai, I always have, but doing this is just so wrong that I cannot support you on your side. I have to protect Syaoran."

"You love me," he repeated softly, and eventually his iron grip on her weakened. He suddenly looked so vulnerable, and, Sakura noticed, innocently hurt. "I-you're saying you love me, and then you're admitting that you're completely devoted to him."

"Kukai-"

"I love you, Sakura," he admitted, and to her surprise, he bowed his head down in defeat and shame. "It's like in the fictional stories; the bad guy, the traitor who isn't supposed to submit himself to emotions failed when he fell in love with the enemy. I would've killed both you and him if I hadn't gotten to know you before I accepted to do all of this. Both of you would've been dead right now if I hadn't surrendered to this stupid choice." Suddenly, he laughed, and Kukai bent down towards her to kiss her cheek. His eyes were glassy, his breathing shaking, and for once Sakura saw the lost little boy inside him that he's been keeping to himself all this time. "At least it feels like it was the one right thing I've done."

Sakura released a breath she hadn't noticed that she was holding. She smiled at him, caressing the cheek that is slowly stained with tears, and then she let herself cry a little as well. Kukai was giving up; he looked too weary to fight and argue with her anymore, he wasn't even attempting to act. She reached up and hooked her arms around his neck, lending him the shoulder that he would need to survive through the months that are about to come.

She has accomplished her job.

* * *

"It's been such a long day!" Tomoyo exclaimed, happily stretching her arms out above her and then coming back to nestle herself gently against Eriol, who laughed lightly. On the bed, Sakura and Syaoran smiled at them. "So the case is finally closed, huh? The bad guys are caught."

"We won't know exactly what will be charged on them until another week or two, though," Syaoran said, shrugging. "It might turn out that the whole Shodka Company has been planning this, and it's a big enough industry to make it difficult for the police to completely shut them down. I guess we'll just have to wait."

"It may even take longer," Eriol observed from that, and released a sigh. "Ah, what has it been? Four, five weeks since this whole thing happened?"

"It felt a helluva lot longer!" Sakura said, and when Syaoran sent her a look, she laughed. "What? That was the best word to describe it!"

"But at least the major issue is finally settled," Tomoyo said, and her tone left Sakura and Syaoran hanging. She was smiling a little strangely to them. Tomoyo leaned back again, cheekily smirking at Eriol, who kissed the tip of her nose. At that scene, Sakura jumped a foot in surprise while Syaoran's eyes widened.

"When have you two-?" Sakura began, lifting a hand weakly up into the air. The newfound couple smiled at them.

"I know it may seem fast for you," Eriol began, laughing a little, "but Tomoyo and I are engaged. We're getting married in May, just a couple of months away." He then paused teasingly, smirking down at his fiancée. "Hey, that rhymed."

"Oh my god!" Sakura lurched up from the bed and into Tomoyo's arms, knocking them both against the wall in the process. Eriol stood up, walking towards Syaoran who had his hand out to him, laughing, and congratulating them in a tone that was hardly audible against the midst of the excited mess.

"What-how-when did it happen?" Sakura stammered wide-eyed, her cousin blushing prettily.

"Well, it's just that Eriol has been working so hard. I came to visit him often in case because I was worried, and then it just went on from there; we became extremely close." She shrugged a little helplessly, looking over Sakura's shoulder at her engaged. "He's just so hopelessly charming."

"So when did he propose?" Sakura giggled, nestling her head in Tomoyo's neck and wrapping her arms around her waist in a sisterly manner.

"Just a few days ago. Seriously," Tomoyo pulled away slightly, her eyebrows raised to show that she was exasperated but amused at the same time. "I had literally _just_ heard the news of you almost getting run over by the motorcycle from Rika on the cell-phone when I was talking to him, and while I was hyperventilating, he shouted at me and asked me to marry him! Can you believe that guy?" Suddenly, she threw her head back and laughed. "And then, when I was staring at him in shock, he took a deep breath and suddenly looked at me with confused eyes, saying, 'Wait, Sakura got in a car crash again?'"

"That is so cute!" Sakura exclaimed, and then waved her hand. "Not the part about him being concerned about me, of course –but that's sweet-, but the way he asked you to marry him. I'm so happy for you!"

"Oh, look there, you've sent the two girls over there into a female coma," Syaoran pointed out from his conversation with his best friend, and the two laughed. Eriol had a healthy flush on his face, his expression looked the happiest as it ever had been for a long time. With a proud exhale, Syaoran clapped his mate in the back. "Well done, Eriol, you've finally become a man like me."

"Like you? Oh please," Eriol rolled his eyes playfully, and nudged him lightly with his elbow. "I'm a man because I'm responsible enough to tie down the knot and get married! You're still not even on relationship basis with Sakura, yet."

"I don't need to hear that from you," exclaimed Syaoran, but he quickly turned back to laughing. "Anyway, the main spotlight is on you, my friend. You're getting married really quickly; I suppose you've already got the basics planned?"

"Tomoyo's happy to handle everything," Eriol looked at the dark-haired girl, smiling fondly. "And I'm happy to handle everything _to _her. But I've got one serious question for you, though; one that may test your ability as a friend."

"Test away."

"Would you so kindly do me the favor of becoming my man in honor?"

Syaoran laughed happily when Eriol mock-bowed to him, and he shoved his friend playfully on the shoulder again. However, he didn't control his strength very well, and Eriol grunted as he was knocked off the bed. Syaoran continued to laugh. "Of course I would, you moron. To Hell with you for taking so long to ask!"

* * *

The next week, Sakura and Tomoyo met up at a local restaurant to discuss the dark-haired girl's plans for her wedding day. They've already promised long ago to be by each other's sides at their weddings every since they were young, so Sakura didn't even have to ask whether Tomoyo would choose her as her maid of honor. The two excitedly chit-chatted over the details of invitations, the place to book, the decorations to build and the clothes to wear. Tomoyo happily announced that she would be designing the clothes, and the photographers should be hired from staff members of the Two-Hundred Percent magazine.

Sakura choked on her drink in surprise and slammed her hands on the table. "Kobayashi-chan's magazine?"

Tomoyo chirped a cheerful "Yup!"

The bell on the restaurant door tinkled then, and Akemi Kobayashi arrived at the perfect moment to enter their conversation. The two girls warmly welcomed her in, with the red-headed girl immediately pulling out a list of photographers in her company and scheduling to take couple pictures for Tomoyo. While the engaged girl was looking excitedly through the backgrounds and scenes, Akemi turned to Sakura and smiled.

"I'm so glad the Li issue has finally been settled after so long," she said, and sighed. "I'm so glad you're alright too."

"It has been tough," Sakura admitted, remembering Kukai's solemn face when the police took him away, and the sad smile he sent to her when he left. She still remembered his confession clearly since that day, and she believed that she wouldn't forget it for a while. However, her heart was not set on him at the moment.

"Is the company faring out? Has Li-san returned back to work?"

Sakura nodded, "He has, and thank God everyone's been really beneficial and doing their best to get back to the top again."

"That's a relief."

It was, really, for the sake of the Li Corporation that Syaoran's finally returned. However, ever since he returned back to his position a few days ago, private meetings with him has been scarce. It was a lot for him to catch up after he's been gone for so long, so Syaoran has been too busy to talk with Sakura about anything other than their work. Although Sakura wished something would happen between them since Tomoyo and Eriol are engaged, her hopes have been nominal.

Akemi broke her out of her reverie, "By the way, Sakura-san, I hate to suddenly impose this on you, but I was wondering if you would consider something for me."

Sakura politely looked at her friend, smiling expectantly. "Anything, of course."

"Do you remember when I asked if you could come over to my company and be my covergirl?" Akemi grinned, her bright eyes gleaming even more. "I'm still hoping for your response."

"Oh!" Sakura gasped in surprise, causing Tomoyo to look up as well; she must've heard. "That position is still opened?"

"Of course, I was saving it for you." Akemi laced her fingers on the table then, and smiled a little sheepishly. "I'm not meaning to trouble you or anything; I would hate to force you out of a job you like. But I wasn't so sure if you really were willing to come over and do this so I reserved the spot, and Tomoyo suggested that you loved the idea."

Tomoyo nodded, smiling encouragingly. "I did, actually."

"I was so flattered when you first offered this job to me, Akemi-san," admitted Sakura truthfully. Then, she looked down at herself warily. "But do you think I'm best fit for this job?"

"I trust my eyes, and it says that you are perfect." Akemi nodded triumphantly. "You are beautiful, but not extravagantly so; you wouldn't need too much makeup because you're naturally pretty. I'm in need of people like that, because I want to encourage women to not put on too much makeup; my past models were covered with these . . ." she made a small gesture with her hands, fluttering her fingers, "icky stuff, but you're attractive enough that you won't need it, but not attractive enough to make people feel like they need to completely compare to you, but rather be like you: more natural." Akemi took a deep breath and nodded again. "I talk too much, but that's basically the idea."

Before Sakura could answer, she started again. "And another thing is that I want people to recognize that you are just a normal person too! All the models I've hired in the past couple of years trained for so long just because of this, and I don't like it. It's just so stiff, so awkward. I want people to see that, as long as they stay fit like you, they can be models too." She gasped a little, blushing. "Would you look at that? I just made a rhyme."

Tomoyo smiled, rolling her eyes a little. "What a sense of déjà vu."

Sakura was blushing deeply by the time they were finished, and Tomoyo was giggling. At the sudden realization that she must've embarrassed the emerald-eyed girl, Akemi worriedly reached her hands out. "I didn't wish to make you uncomfortable! I'm sorry."

"I-I'll do it!" Sakura exclaimed, and then closed her mouth, flushing again. She suddenly looked very excited. "I'll do it if you'd accept me! I'll try my best!"

Akemi leaped at the girl, smiling happily as she drew her in for a friendly and gracious hug. She squealed. "Yes, that's amazing!" When she pulled back, her eyes were glowing with anticipation. "I'll send you all the information you need, and you don't need to rush to get me yours. But the sooner, the better. If we get all the paperwork these days, you can begin shooting by the end of next week."

Tomoyo clapped and reached across the table for Akemi's hand, squeezing it. She smiled, "I told you so."

"I don't know what to say," Sakura said, cupping her cheeks with her hands. Then, after a while, she remembered that she'll have to leave Syaoran at such a hard time, and a new burden fell on her shoulders. She wondered how he was going to the take news.

* * *

"Agh," Syaoran said, slapping his final piece of paperwork onto the table and tangling his fingers in his hair. He leaned back, sighing. "Finally, done."

He heard a knock on his door, and before he had even permitted entrance, Sakura unceremoniously walked in and handed him a fresh cup of coffee, a fixed look on her face. He took it with gratitude, and smirked at her. "Something's just never change, do they?" He teased, and sipped out of his drink.

"I guess not," Sakura shrugged, smiling as well. However, the smile quickly slipped and she was staring at him intently. "Syaoran."

"Sakura," he mimicked her, setting his cup on the table. When she didn't smile, he glanced at her worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's . . . _wrong_, I don't think. I just have some news for you."

"Spit it out, then," he nodded, and turned his chair just so he can face her directly from where she was perched on the edge of his desk. "I hate seeing you smothering things in like this."

Sakura blushed a little at that comment, twiddling her thumbs guiltily while she peeked at him through her lashes. She noticed the enormous amounts of paperwork stacked on his table by her side and grimaced a little, and then she looked down. As Syaoran's patience started to wear out and he was beginning to feel a little annoyed, Sakura spoke. "Do you . . . do you think that you need me?"

"Do I what?" he quickly blurted, obviously taken back at the strange question. Sakura blushed, and then paled, shaking her head frantically in trying to rephrase that.

"No! No, I don't mean like that! I just, you know, mean that, do you think you need me now that you've returned back to work?"

"Oh," Syaoran breathed and leaned back against his chair, a little flushed too. He shrugged. "You've been doing great so far, of course. But right now, it's mostly me trying to get back onto schedule with everything that I've missed so far. I always need a secretary, and, I suppose, it's nice to have a friend too."

"I don't know how to say this to you," Sakura said uncertainly, frowning. "We've been through so much, and I want to always be here to help you, except . . ." She looked guilty again. "Syaoran, I-"

She took a deep breath, closing her eyes, and then opened them to show the conflict she was facing inside.

"I want to quit."

Syaoran's eyes immediately widened, turning speechless for once in his life. Sakura bit her lip, closing her eyes again, somehow hoping she wouldn't see the betrayal he must have felt. She stammered again, trying to regain her posture, "I just, I don't know, I don't feel like this place is the best for me. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I've never really wanted to be involved with business or money or things like that; jobs like these are challenging because I'm not as talented as you. I feel as if my life is incomplete."

Syaoran reached out for her hand during the time she had her eyes closed, and when his closed around hers warmly, she looked at him in surprise. He was smiling lop-sided, an eyebrow raised.

"I know, of course. Why didn't I fire you when you first dumped that coffee on me?"

"You knew?" she blinked at him, an almost blank look on her face. He withdrew his hand, looking mockingly irritated.

"Yes, I just said that, you just said that; why do you look so surprised?"

"I was just going with the moment!" she exclaimed, her pitch a little high. They both winced and then she calmed down. "Sorry, that was too loud."

"I know you stayed here for this time because I got into that crash," he continued, looking serious. "I know you felt like it was your responsibility to finish the work here while I'm gone, and I'm thankful for that. But, you know, I don't want you to feel responsible. I want you to feel happy."

Syaoran stood up, turning around to look outside the window at the dark and busy street underneath them, his hands in his pockets. He sighed, and Sakura, eyebrows creased, watched as he tried to clear his mind of something so he could turn back to her again. When he did, he was smiling softly.

"Won't you be happy for me?"

She felt her heart leap into her throat, felt the slight fluttering in her stomach as she was looking at his beautiful figure underneath the moonlight, and the way he was smiling at her was enough to send her falling because after all this time, he was there for her and she hoped that he would always be since she would be too and he was just so perfect . . .

She eventually smiled at him, like a promise, and she nodded once just to emphasize that yes, she would, since she was in love with him and all.


	11. you'll find someone

_Disclaimer: Bah. There's an idea._

* * *

**11**.. . . you'll find someone . . .

"Good morning, Yelan-sama," Sakura bowed before she walked into the Li mansion, and the elder women smiled at her graciously.

"And to you," she replied. Wei gestured for Sakura to come to their sitting room, and already there, Syaoran was lifting a cup of coffee to his mouth with his legs crossed and an arm thrown over the back of the couch. Yelan looked disapprovingly at his position, and with a grin, he adjusted himself.

"Sorry, Mother," he said, sent Sakura a look, and went back to drinking coffee.

"He has horrible manners, sometimes," Yelan sighed, and as the two walked over to where Syaoran was sitting, Sakura muttered under her breath, "You haven't seen the worst of it."

"I heard that, you know?" He murmured back to her when she sat down, and while Yelan was elegantly adjusting in her seat, Sakura elbowed him in the guts. "Ow."

"I'm very glad that you came here today, Kinomoto-san," Yelan began, drawing the two younger adults to her attention. "It has been a long two months for us, but at last everything has settled. How has your new job been for you so far?"

"It's wonderful," Sakura said truthfully, smiling. Indeed, the past couple of weeks in the modeling industry have been fulfilling and fun; she never imagined that being a model would be so relaxing and natural. Although, she supposed, she did have a pretty laid-back boss.

"_Hurry up, you lazy swines!" Akemi was yelling, clapping her rolled up magazine in her hand as the photographers rushed with grimaces on their faces. "I'm telling you that this has to be perfect, and when I say perfect, I mean perfect! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"_

"_Yes, Miss!" They all replied. Sakura, standing in a green kimono and a fan in her hand, suddenly felt like laughing or dropping onto the floor._

"_WHEN I'M ALL DONE WITH YOU STUPID PEOPLE, LET'S ALL HAVE AN AWESOME PARTY! YEAH!"_

Sakura still felt like laughing.

"It's a pity that you left Syaoran's side," Yelan continued, and she turned to glare at her son. "He's being a lazy swine now that you're gone."

Sakura suddenly felt a sense of cliché.

"Hey, Mother, shouldn't we be discussing about what's happened in court now?" Syaoran rolled his eyes exasperatingly, obviously trying to change the subject. He threw an arm over the back of the couch again, behind Sakura's shoulders, and when his hand rested near her arm she slapped him with annoyance. The maids in the room around them giggled.

"Yes, well," Yelan couldn't hide the smug smile tugging at the corner of her lips either, "everything has been settled. Katonshi Kukai, the gentleman you've caught, has been sentenced to a year in solitary confinement in prison as a punishment for what he's attempted to do. However, I've heard of his situation, and it is quite grim." Yelan cleared her throat, deliberately looking at Sakura as she spoke the next words, "I've decided that I shall help clear him of his debt, aid his mother's recovery, and restore his old antique shop. He will never be socially accepted into any Li Corporations, of course, but he'll have a new start."

Sakura smiled widely, her eyes gleaming with gratitude as she bowed at the elder woman. "Thank you so much, Yelan-sama."

"For what?"

Sakura looked up, still smiling sweetly, and clasped her hands on top of her lap. "For being so kind."

Yelan smiled a little and nodded, but then the seriousness crawled back into her eyes. "But as for the Shodka Company now . . . our clan has already sued them for their sinister motives, and we successfully won the case with numerous witnesses and supporters on our side, one that includes Katonshi-san. They are charged with a million dollar fine and a temporary closing until they can find new positions, though I highly doubt they'd be able to find anyone willing to do the job for a while. Everything has been settled."

"Serves them right," Syaoran snorted. "That's what they get for messing with the infamous Li Clan."

"Yeah, who's only male eligible for marriage and offspring is out playing poker in the casino." Sakura said sarcastically.

Syaoran's mother, though, did not find that amusing. "You have been doing what?" She asked her son, and immediately, the temperature in the room dropped four degrees. Syaoran turned to the girl beside him, glaring.

"Thanks for killing me, Kinomoto."

"I was only pointing out that you should be focusing on family now!" Sakura continued, looking at Yelan sheepishly. "And he has, my goodness, done very well at it. He hadn't brought home a prostitute in months!"

Syaoran slapped his hand to his face while Sakura watched in fear as Yelan was bursting with an aura of enraged darkness.

"Yelan-sama," Sakura began weakly; the situation was much like the time she'd encountered Akemi on one of her bad days.

"_This is called a locker room for a reason," Akemi was saying, her usually warm eyes shining with a bright evilness that Sakura had never witnessed before. The man before them, who had perversely snuck into the bathroom after Sakura but was unfortunately caught by their boss, was cowering in fear, shrinking into the far corner of the room. Sakura, in a pink bathrobe, was just staring. "Do you want me to kill you? Because I will."_

_Akemi's smile twisted even more; her aura was absolutely overcoming the room it was unbelievable! "Oh yes, I will."_

_There was a male –and girly- scream._

And then, of course, there was Tomoyo.

"_Sakura-chan," she had said one time, her expression absolutely sweet and pretty and her voice cheerfully bright. Sakura, however, knew better than the people around her who were staring at the dark-haired girl in admiration. Sakura took a step back, knocking a tipping bottle over in the process. "Tell me, exactly, why you didn't announce that you've lost your virginity to a man I've never met?"_

"_I-I-I didn't-!"_

"_Oh, you've been a bad girl, Sakura-chan." Tomoyo reached into her purse, finding a leather whip in the process. Sakura recognized the whip from a costume Tomoyo was putting together for that Halloween. "Now, tell me, exactly, where this unlucky bastard lives." Her eyes snapped open, and she was ferocious. A girl in the restaurant was running around in circles, screaming. "I need to warn him about Death's visit tonight."_

So maybe Sakura exaggerated those certain moments a bit, but hey, she did feel the room cool down ever so little.

Eventually, Sakura left for an extra shooting at work, and later that day she would have to meet up with Tomoyo for her bridesmaid dress-fitting. Syaoran, who had walked her to the car that he ordered to drive her to her job, accepted her invitation to come visit her.

"I admit that Tomoyo does have some amazing talent," Syaoran said after he agreed. Sakura looked at him in curiosity. "However, it seems, that there are more appealing ways you could be altered."

"Like what?" She asked.

With a dirty smirk, Syaoran winked at her suggestively. "Like you wearing nothing."

A minute later, Syaoran had walked back into the living to his mother with a big, red handprint on his face and a frown on his lips. "I was just joking," he muttered.

"Kinomoto-san is a delicate young lady; I forbid you from using such vulgar language to her." His mother simply said, and Syaoran gawked at her.

"She was the one who called me a bastard when she broke up with me."

With all the elegance she had, Yelan rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Syaoran, I have some issues I wish to speak with you."

Syaoran sat down as Yelan set down her cup gently on the table, and though he knew what she was going to say, he still patiently listened. Her beautiful dark eyes regarded him calmly, and she rested her hands on her lap. "You do know that you are to be wedded soon."

Syaoran nodded grimly. "Yes, Mother."

"Your fiancée has been a little uncertain after what had happened in the past couple of months, but I'm sure if we return to Hong Kong and pay a visit, all her family's doubts shall disappear."

Syaoran nodded again. "I understand, Mother."

"But retrieving back their devotion is not the biggest issue I had in mind. I would like to know, Syaoran: Do you want to marry?"

Her son creased his eyebrows, looking a little confused. "I don't understand, Mother."

Yelan was silent for a moment, her gaze a little far-off as she thought into space. She smiled a little after a while, and nodded once. "I do like Sakura-san."

Syaoran was shocked, his eyes wide. Yelan continued, though, before he could say anything. "Even though Sakura-san does not have any family name and does not come from a perfectly-educated clan, as you have, I believe she is a beautiful young lady with a charming personality, and the things she has done for us in the past couple of months have been uncountable, we shall forever be in her debt. You have become close to her in this past half a year, I've noticed. What do you think?"

"What does it matter?" Syaoran rebuked bitterly, narrowing his eyes. "The Elders wouldn't let me pursue her, or anyone else besides the people they've chosen for me. They're ridiculous like that."

"Syaoran," she scolded slightly, but her demeanor immediately melted in understanding. "Sakura-san has done us many favors; she saved both our lives, and yet she has not asked for anything in return. I find that remarkable, and possibly, if you wish, you could register that in the Elders' minds."

"Persuade them into accepting her, you mean?" Syaoran asked hopefully, fully intrigued. "Do you think I could do that, Mother?"

Yelan nodded at him. "You have my full support. But do you love her?"

"Of course I do," Syaoran smiled, looking stalwart and definite for the first time Yelan had seen in a long time. "I've come to love nobody else but her."

* * *

"That dirty idiot," Sakura was cussing to Tomoyo as they attempted to stuff her in one of her pale pink bridesmaid dresses, full of frills and lace that Sakura looked more like a cake than anything else, "thinking that I should be naked for your wedding. What kind of inappropriate images run through his mind all day?"

"Oh please, it's not as if _you_ haven't ever fantasized him in your bed sometime in the past." When Sakura opened her mouth to object, Tomoyo sent her a look. Immediately, the former girl winced.

"Yes, I actually have," she admitted with a blush.

"Ugh, this is horrible." Tomoyo stepped back to observe her handiwork. Indeed, Sakura looked like a dessert. "I wanted you to look ravishing. I wanted people to want to eat you, but not in this way!" She shook her head. "No, no, next one."

"You're crazy," Sakura said funnily, sticking her tongue out. "So, Tomoyo, how close have you and Eriol been so much that you've decided to marry in just a few months?"

"Oh, you know, the occasional closeness. He and I are both very serious in relationships; we do not delve into one until we are both certain of its becoming something more. I know we've only known each other for a relatively short time, but there really is this connection, you know?"

Sakura smiled. "That's sweet."

Tomoyo smiled back. "And you should learn from me."

"Ah, whatever. I'm definitely not thinking about being in a relationship any time soon." Sakura paused for a second, looking a little hesitant, but she quickly recovered. "So, is Eriol a compassionate lover?"

"He's passionate, alright." Tomoyo said. However, when Sakura tried to correct her friend, the stylist woman continued with a smirk. "Did you know that our first time was on his desk?" she winked.

"Syaoran's desk?" Sakura exclaimed with horrification. Tomoyo lurched back, shaking her head.

"What is wrong with you and your dirty mind? We wouldn't ever do that!"

"Syaoran's perverseness is contagious!" Sakura knelt down, throwing her arms over her head. "I'm sorry! I'm going to jump off a cliff now!"

"Oh, get up," her cousin dragged her up, and Sakura had a goofy smile on her face. Tomoyo then reached back and threw a white dress with light green patterns into her arms. "Get into this; we'll try again."

The changing room door closed behind Sakura after she walked in. Although her life has been quite perfect, to say the least, she felt like she was missing something again. It irked her to no end, having just left Syaoran's side because she wanted to pursue her dreams, and then feeling like she just opened another gap in her chest when she arrived. With a sigh, Sakura drew her pink dress off and changed into the new one, allowing herself to take deep breaths while she did her work.

Tomoyo wasn't there when she came out, and instead, Syaoran was near the windows, looking outside. Sakura suddenly felt a little conscious of her dress at that moment; was it as horrible as the last one she'd put on?

She turned back silently, tense, but Syaoran seemed to have heard the clicking of her heels for he turned at that moment to look at her. When they're eyes met, his were wide.

"Sakura," he said, and his amber gaze trailed down over her appearance. His gaze was like fluttering his fingertips gently over her body; there was nothing sensual about it, but Sakura couldn't help but feel herself heating up underneath his eyes.

"Hi, Syaoran," she replied, turning back to him. She blushed, tucked a strand of hair back behind her ear, and smiled at him. "What do you think?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, and when he did, he was blinking, "It's great."

Disappointment clouded her vision for a while and caused her stomach to pummel down slightly, but she quickly regained her posture. She looked around, faking to be happy. "Where'd Tomoyo go?"

"She went to the restroom," he said, still looking at her. After an awkward pause, he cleared his throat and pulled his hands out from his pockets. "She actually gave me something, you see," he said, and walked towards her. Sakura noticed a black leather box in his hands as he advanced near her. "It . . . compliments your dress."

Syaoran lifted the lid open, and it revealed a beautiful green gem hanging off from a diamond-studded chain; though the pendant was not emerald, it was still marvelous. Sakura gasped in awe. Syaoran smiled at her, tilting his head to the side. "Should I put it on for you?"

"Sure," Sakura breathed. She lifted her hair above her head, and her breath hitched when, instead of walking around to her back, Syaoran rounded his hands behind her neck and clasped the necklace on in front of her. She blushed as she felt the heat of his body so near her, his lips so close to her cheek. If only she could lean in just a little . . . just an inch or two forward . . .

However, Syaoran leaned away before she could do that.

Sakura felt disappointed again, and she dropped her hair, letting the auburn strands fall just below her shoulders. She cleared her throat, blushing. "What do you think?" She repeated again, expecting the same answer.

Syaoran, however, did not fulfill her expectations. Although he was farther away than he was, she could still feel his minty breath hit her face from the distance. She looked up, seeing in surprise that he was smiling again.

"You look beautiful," he said; a slender finger had reached up to touch her cheek, sending a shiver down her spine. Sakura's lips parted, eyes wide. "I love green," he confessed; he was so close. "It's the color of your eyes."

She blinked in surprise at the gentleness of his voice; she had never really seen him this way before, not even during the day they kissed. At least, she might've, but at that moment, she had no time to remember something in the past. Sakura's hand reached up to knot lightly into the fabric of his shirt collar, not tugging to pull him in, but more holding him to make sure that he was there and with her. The finger that was on her face traced down under her chin, and he tilted her face up just a little, and was within a milliliter of kissing her.

They kissed, just a short while. And when they pulled back, both were just starting to smile.

At that exact moment, Sakura had to sneeze.

The two jumped apart as she did that, and, embarrassed, Sakura covered her face while Syaoran looked away with a blush clearly evident across his cheeks. Instead of feeling disappointed again, Sakura felt absolutely angry that she had to ruin the moment.

At least, her thoughts told her in the midst of her mind, she hadn't sneezed on his face; rather, she pulled back and sneezed in the space between them.

Still though! How embarrassing.

The door opened a minute later, slowly, and Tomoyo carefully poked her head in. At the sight of the two far apart from each other, she sighed in annoyance, and strode into the room with her hands on her hips. "Well, at least we've got something accomplished today." She looked at Sakura in her dress, finally smiling with satisfaction. "Yes, that looks very nice. What do you think, Syaoran-kun?"

He was still blushing a little, but he nodded his head anyway. "Yes, sure, it looks alright." Suddenly, with a huff, Syaoran walked over to a jacket thrown over a chair and tossed it over his shoulders, holding it with one hand. "Now do you still need me?"

"It's alright. We just wanted a male's opinion, that's all," Tomoyo smiled, and waved at him. "If you need to be somewhere, go ahead."

Syaoran nodded at them, and when he caught Sakura's eye, they both blushed again. He looked away, closing his eyes. "I'll see you."

"See you," she replied softly, watching as he strode out of the room. She sighed when he left, feeling a little distraught. "I'm tired."

"What, but you haven't even tried out all of the dresses yet!" Tomoyo exclaimed.

"I thought you said this dress looked nice! You even gave me this necklace to match it."

Tomoyo leaned forward, examining the expensive necklace around Sakura's neck, and smiled. "Oh, yes, that is quite pretty."

Sakura blinked at her in confusion. Tomoyo met her eyes, and blinked back with the same expression. "I thought you gave this to me."

Her cousin looked down, and back up at her again. She shook her head. "No, I didn't get this for you."

It wasn't until after when Sakura was going home did she realize that the necklace she was currently wearing was from Syaoran.


	12. that you can live with

_Some of you may have noticed that I uploaded three chapters in a day (some of you), and I PROFOUNDLY apologize for not having updated this story for so wrong. In December and part of January, my house internet didn't exist, and I was too lazy to go to the school or library to publish it. So I delayed it. And delayed it. And delayed it . . . even when I had all three of these chapters written out. I am so sorry. Thank you, reader, if you've come back._

_But, good news: The next chapter should come soon! DEFINITELY not in half a year. -sigh- At least I didn't decide to postpone all of this for a whole year. There are many authors, whom I love of course, who don't update their stories consecutively for three months each time. BUT THAT'S THE LIFE OF A HIGHSCHOOL-ER!_

_Disclaimer: Remember the hippogriff? Yes, well, funny story: I tried trading her with CS, but Clow was insulted, and banned me from his Garden of Eden in his animated world. So . . . don't tell him that I'm still writing about his characters, or he'd kill me. :)_

* * *

**1****2.** . . . that you can live with . . .

"-there's just so much that you can do with all these thingamabobs and crap going all around you in one time, you know? Ugh, I need a shower. A bridal shower, maybe. Where is my purse? I think penguins will look good in the wedding. What do you think, Sakura? Sakura?" Tomoyo shook her best friend hard. "Sakura! Earth to ya!"

The green-eyed woman ceased her movements, setting the dirty eraser down, and the sending Tomoyo a dirty look. "I heard you. The first time."

"So do you think penguins will be nice?" the bride-to-be continued to ask, blinking innocently. "I'm going to be wearing all white and Eriol will be all black; penguins are pretty cute, huh? Oh! How about cows?"

"Ugh," Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes playfully. "Are you sure you're not pregnant?"

She received a fatal blow in the chest from Tomoyo in return.

After a while, the dark-haired woman leaned over to peer curiously at Sakura's business; she creased her eyebrows in confusion, "What are you doing?" She pointed to a small leather book in the lady's hands. "What is that?"

Sakura smiled. "It's my phonebook," she said, and started erasing again. "I'm getting rid of all the names and starting over. All the guys in here were assholes, anyway."

Tomoyo leaned back, muttering under her breath, "Took you long enough."

She was cast another dirty look. "I heard that, wench."

"But," she sighed, "I'm at least glad that you have finally figured it out. Could there be a reason to all of this?" She nudged at Sakura suggestively, who in turn shrugged in pretense.

"No, not really. Well, maybe it's because after all this Kukai mess, I've finally realized that I don't need a boyfriend. I'm perfectly fine by myself."

"You sure that Syaoran-kun has nothing to do with this?"

Sakura looked at her friend strangely. "What gave you that idea?"

"I don't know," said the engaged woman, who looked away. "I just thought that, after so long, you guys would've gotten somewhere, you know?"

"Well we have gotten somewhere; we've gotten really close as friends. He's irreplaceable to me now."

"But that's not all, is there? Is there something more between you and him? You've always been rather dense, Sakura, but this relationship shouldn't be so hard. It's obvious that he likes you."

She looked at her friend with a troubled expression, "I don't know," she cringed, and then she looked down, disappointed. "He's actually engaged, you know? His clan Elders ordered him in an arranged marriage."

Tomoyo's eyes went wide. "Really? Are you sure?"

Nodding shamefully, Sakura ducked her head. "He told me that right before we got into the car crash."

Forming a cringe, Tomoyo frowned and sighed into her hand, closing her eyes at the newly found conflict. She'd been hoping that her friend would've finally come to realize their feelings for each other and start something, but she never knew that Syaoran was already engaged this whole time. Eriol hadn't told her either, and he was on her side; he possibly also didn't know about that fact. Well, there went her matchmaking plans, all of them down the drain.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," she murmured to her friend, heart twisting painfully at her friend's disappointed look. Seeing the sympathy in the girl's eyes, Sakura shook her head and smiled cheerfully, faked of course, and made a sound of nonchalance.

"It's nothing, I should've guessed. After all, he's the last male heir of the Li clan. I wouldn't have expected any less. And, he's turning 26 soon," She returned back to her previous duty, "perfectly suitable to become a bachelor."

"Yes, but, I'm assuming you have feelings for him," Tomoyo said gently. "Isn't there . . . something you could do? I really think Li-sama likes you; you can tell her about your relationship with him, I'm sure she could figure something out."

"Oh no, I can't trouble her with that," Sakura exclaimed lightly, looking surprised, a flush upon her cheeks. "She's already been very understanding when she found out that I quit my job right after Syaoran recovered. I can't possibly ask for anything more." She shrugged, and looked outside her window. "At least Syaoran is in good hands. The Elders know what they're doing, and they'll take care of him. As long as Syaoran sits down his stubborn ass, he'll be happy."

"He won't want to sit down unless he's tired," Tomoyo teased, along with a trace of bitterness in her tone. "And, I can tell you this, he is certainly not going to get tired any time soon."

Sakura smiled at her friend, quirking an eyebrow as if she felt helpless, but there was a trace of hope in her grass-green eyes. "Yeah, I guess not."

"And you? Are you sure you want to settle down without him?"

"I can't depend on him. I mean, not after what happened in the past few months. And besides, I just said so, a few minutes earlier; I don't need a guy. I'm perfectly capable of independence." Sakura was smiling brightly again. After a moment, she looked down thoughtfully and picked up her eraser-infested phonebook, the pages sticky with pieces of rubber. She snapped it shut, causing Tomoyo to look at her with surprise, and with a grin and a well-aimed shot, she threw the book into a trash bin underneath her desk. It rattled inside with a satisfying clank.

"See, I told ya," Sakura teased. Tomoyo shook her head with a smile and a roll of the eyebrows.

"Took you long enough," she repeated. This time, Sakura didn't rebuke.

* * *

Syaoran shook his head as he watched Sakura clap her hands quietly in excitement, humming in approval and smiling like a child. They were out in the seafood restaurant again, both deciding to catch up and lay back hearing each other's lives. The woman across from him stuffed her bib inside her collar and rubbed her hands in anticipation. She looked around restlessly. "Where's the food?" She said.

"The waiter literally _just_ took our order," Syaoran remarked, nodding towards the kitchen. "See? He just walked in."

"Well, he's too slow!"

"You're too peevish."

"I am not! I just have a highly sensitive nerve system that signals my highly developed brain to process faster, and therefore I prefer to do things speedily." Sakura stuck her nose up haughtily, peering at him through her lashes. "I wouldn't expect you to understand, of course, considering the fact that you are not as advanced in intelligence as me."

"Oh," Syaoran mocked, throwing a hand over his chest. "You pain me, wise ol' woman."

"I am not old," Sakura replied darkly, frowning. With a smirk, the tousle-haired man pulled out his cell phone and texted her from underneath the table. Upon hearing the bell of her own cell ring, she glared at him warily, and peeked at the message.

"_Fuck yeah, you are."_

"_Fudge you."_

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. _"Fudge?"_

"_I am an elegant woman; I do not use such vulgar language."_

"_Well then, same meaning. My bedroom door is always opened for service."_

She faked throwing her phone at him over the table, resulting in some strange looks from people around her. Sakura leaned back in embarrassment, pouting at him. "You know I don't mean it like that," she said.

Syaoran shook his head. "I don't, actually. You can't blame me, you know. Numerous flocks of women had come to me and said the same thing –well, close to meaning at least- as you, except that really meant it literally." He sounded sarcastic, but when he nodded and grinned slightly, Sakura blushed. "Ah, yes, those wonderful, glorious days."

"Perverted cow," she muttered underneath her breath, crossing her arms. He raised eyebrows, continuing.

"I'm glad we're able to have civilized conversations like this," he said, ignoring her previous comment. "It's nice seeing you so pink. Pink looks good on you; now you don't have to apply makeup to look so radiant all the time."

"I hate your sarcasm," she snapped, her fingers tapping against her arms.

"No you don't. You find it endearing."

"I hate your guts."

"But my guts are beautiful."

"I hate your egocentric, self-centered, deceitful, arrogant, overblown language and completely pompous personality."

"Oh, wow, somebody looked up the dictionary."

"I hate you."

"But we've already kissed so many times!"

Sakura jolted back and ducked her head, stomping once on her foot, "Stop that! You-you don't know how many inappropriate words I'm dying to throw at you right now! Stop getting on my nerves!"

Syaoran looked down, clicked something for a few seconds, and smugly smirked at her afterwards. Her phone beeped once more, and with a vein throbbing in her temple, Sakura peered at it.

"_You're lovely when your nerves are showing."_

"_I will kill you, drag you into a bush, and badonkadonk you alive."_

"Badonkadonk?" He asked, clearly confused. "Is that even a word?"

"Bury," she deadpanned, slapping a hand to her forehead. "How is that word even real in my phone?"

"_It has the same type of imagination as you: messed up."_

"_SHUT THE HELL UP OR I _WILL_ BADONKADONK YOU!"_

"I don't what it means," Sakura said when he sent her a look, "but as long as it's bad, I'll do it."

"_Oh, you're so naughty."_

Sakura promptly decided to ignore him for the next couple of minutes.

"Ah yes, speaking of the past, how long have we been friends?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know; six, seven months?"

"The pity; after all this time and you still have not come to my room even once. Now _that_ would be some real fun, wouldn't it?"

She looked at him darkly, growling, "Stop that or I will chop off your anatomy."

"Nah; you'd have too much fun staring at it then wanting to damage it."

Sakura was beet red.

Finally, Syaoran coughed, still looking rather amused, and ruffled his hair. It was a habit, Sakura knew now, when he was thinking about something or had something to do or say. She was still sensitive about the conversation before, and looked gloomily down at her wine, twirling the glass on top of the table. Syaoran smiled slightly as he watched her sneak glances at him.

"Has it really been seven months?" He asked her gently as his head tilted slightly to the side. "Time flies by so fast."

"Yeah, it does," she agreed. A moment later, a grin stretched across her face. "I still remember the first time we met. _And_ the first time we talked."

"Oh, right. I actually recorded that conversation on my phone; it's able to do that, you know?"

She immediately looked horrified, stilling her movements. "You're kidding me."

He flashed a smile at her, "You really believe everything people say, don't you?"

"Pfft," she said, leaning back again in her chair. She sputtered, "I-I just-I'm pure-minded! I believe that people are honest! It's not like I've got a problem with it, or anything."

"Right," he nodded, murmuring gently. He looked to the side, out into the street through the restaurant's big glass window like he was far and deep in thought. "That's one thing I like about you."

Sakura remained quiet for a moment, blinking at him in shock. She blushed, clearing her throat, and asked tentatively, "What else do you like about me? A-as a friend, I mean," she added when he turned to look at her.

"I . . . like the way you're not afraid to voice your thoughts," he counted off, looking away again. Was that pink on his cheeks? "I also like how, in some other times, you're as shy as a turtle. I like the way you genuinely care about other people, and that you're so innocent at heart. It's rare to find in people these days."

He cut off by abruptly looking down at his watch as a distraction, not daring to look up at Sakura's flushed face again. She threw her hands over her cheeks, frowning. She blushed too easily around him nowadays. After a moment of tense silence, Syaoran leaned forward and rested his elbows on this table, his chin propped on his laced fingers.

"I-I like the way you act so stubborn when you're sometimes annoyed," Sakura cut in before Syaoran could say something when he suddenly opened his mouth. He stared at her wide-eyed. "You act so immature during those times, but when something's very serious, you become mature and responsible and thoughtful, and you put every effort into doing what you think is right. I like that, because that means you're a nice person; I like how you try to act so cold on the outside when you're kind on the inside." She trailed off slightly, blushing and looking to the side. "And . . . I like how I was able to break down the wall slightly so I could see who you really are."

Syaoran smiled over his hands, eyes darkening with a rare fondness Sakura probably only saw a pin-full of times in her life. The conversation they were having seemed to have taken on a complete different turn, for Sakura was heating up with a bubbly warmness, almost giddy; her heart was beating quickly but soothingly in her chest and ears. Syaoran, at that moment, really was the most handsome man she'd ever seen in her life. "Yes," he said gently, almost like a whisper, "I like how you were the only girl who was ever able to do that."

He held out a hand across the table, and she took it. Sakura couldn't remember a time when her body never jumped in happiness when their skin made contact. It was probably impossible. His grasp, warm and reassuring as it tightened slightly around her smaller ones, sent a pleasant shiver down from her arms to her toes. She was blushing again.

"Will you wait for me?" Syaoran suddenly asked, springing her eyes up to focus on him, eyebrows crinkled slightly in confusion. "There's . . . something I have to do back in Hong Kong. I have to settle a business. I'll probably be gone for a while, maybe a couple of months, but I'll hopefully be back for Eriol and Tomoyo's wedding."

"Is it that important?" She whispered, hoping to find something in his eyes. The only thing she saw was raw emotion; he looked a little torn, almost regretful. He nodded.

"Family business," he confirmed; he would never lie to her, but Sakura felt like he wasn't telling the complete truth. "I don't want to sound selfish; I've been acting even more that way ever since I knew you, but . . ." his troubled look deepened and receded at the same time, "if I succeed, you'd be the first to know when I come back, and until then I want you to wait for me."

"_He's getting married,"_ Sakura thought to herself, though she would never allow her panic to surface on her face. It was very important to him, so who was she to tell him that she didn't want him to go? She nodded, suddenly finding it hard to swallow and breathe. "Okay, I will," she promised, blinking at the sudden stinging in the back of her eyes. "I'll wait for you, of course. And then we'll celebrate," she smiled, squeezing his hands, and his eyes widened before his face melted into a smile.

"Yeah, we'll do that."

The rest of the meal was a blur, occasionally with either of them sparking up a short conversation, but Sakura couldn't feel the energy to be happy anymore.

As they walked out the restaurant close to each other, Sakura stopped the two of them and held her fingers to her chest. "By the way," she said, "I never got to thank you for giving me this necklace." She smiled. "I know Tomoyo didn't actually give it me."

"Yes, well," Syaoran muttered, looking away with a small flush, "it looked nice on you. I ran into Tomoyo one day at Eriol's place and she was working on that dress; I just happened to run into that necklace afterwards. It's nothing."

"I think it's beautiful," Sakura said. "I don't care if it clashes with my purple clothes; I love it."

"I'm glad," he muttered again, forcing a giggle out of her. After all, this would probably one of the last times she'd ever see him so flustered, she thought.

A shadow crossed his face when he looked back down at his watch, and then he looked up at the weather. It was darkening with clouds rumbling over ahead. Sakura wanted to spend more time with him, just enough to make up for the time they'd be missing when he was gone, and when she couldn't possibly have a future with him anymore. Suddenly, Syaoran turned to her and leaned down, trapping her in his arms and kissing her lips, sending trembles down her spine. She released a surprised gasp against him, pushing his shoulders gently, but Syaoran did not comply to let go. Instead, he kissed her harder.

Well, at least, this would be the last time she'd ever make a mistake in love.

* * *

_The last couple of chapters define the art of Winging. You should try sometimes. It's actually kinda fun. (next chap is the last, by the way)_


	13. happily ever after

_I admit, this wasn't what I meant by updating soon. BUT, I'm being absolutely truthful: I have no internet access in my house since the end of May, and this site is blocked in the public library, which sucked big time. -Sigh- Alright, alright, go ahead and flame and blame me all you want, I won't argue. I deserve it._

_But, anyway, if you guys don't like this chapter, I'd be happy to write an extra one. Whoever has an idea that can spark something me, tell me if you'd like, and I'll write it!_

_Disclaimer: Okay._

* * *

**. . . happily ever after.**

The wedding came too soon. After several continuous months of hard work and planning, Tomoyo and Sakura finally managed to patch up the last things they needed to do in order to make the perfect day. The two woke up early in the morning –six o'clock, Sakura had grumbled angrily- and she'd kicked the engaged pair out of bed, and Eriol –albeit confused- was dragged away by his own parents, while Tomoyo practically cried herself out of their apartment.

Though there weren't actually any tears –Sakura prayed thankfully-, Tomoyo's own mother and her best friend had to chase her into the car. At that time, Tomoyo was more anxious than hyperventilating, saying that she wanted to get the tears out earlier so she won't have to shed them during the ceremony. The wedding was at a local hotel, reserved under the Daidouji and Li cooperation, and the moment Tomoyo took a peek at the scene she started fluttering like a restless bird, and started scurrying out of the building. Sakura thought it was beautiful. Tomoyo, to both their shocks, wanted to through a grenade at the white flowers.

"I _told_ them," she'd said, as an excuse, glaring daggers around the place, "I _told_ them to use black carnations!"

Sakura said, "I'm sure they'd love to go to your funeral someday."

With the effort overcoming them, time flew by quickly, and soon Sakura was sitting with Tomoyo in the dressing room as the bride bit her nails anxiously. Noticing this nearly ten minutes later, Sakura slapped her best friend in the hand.

"No," she said, "don't make me handcuff you to the chair."

"You might as well."

"Don't make me ruin your wedding."

"No one would notice!"

"Don't make me tape your mouth shut so you can't saw your vows, woman!"

The two slouched back in their chairs as the ceremony was set up, and a stylist was currently doing Tomoyo's hair. She suddenly threw her hands over her face and started wheezing –at least it seemed so to Sakura-, and when she drew back her fingers she was flushed. Lunging towards Sakura's arm, Tomoyo exclaimed, "I don't want to get married."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't be so melodramatic."

"I'm serious."

"We're not on TV."

"Ohmygod, I'm turning into you!"

At that, Sakura narrowed her eyes and grounded out, "What did you just say?"

"I love Eriol," Tomoyo announced. "Isn't that enough? We don't need any stupid papers or audience to verify our . . . our bond!"

"Tomoyo, I'd imagine you to be the calm one here," Sakura took her friend's hand. "You want to get married. You want the pretty ceremony and beautiful white dress and veil and to walk down an isle to give your groom a ring. You want to have a reason to make out with him in public! So do it! No one wants to stop you."

"I do not want to make out with him in public," Tomoyo simply deadpanned, in which Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Right. You want to jump him. Well everyone knows _that_."

"Daidouji-san," the hair-stylist interrupted, mirth twinkling in her eyes, "your hair is done."

"Ohmygod, cut it all off," said Tomoyo, who patted her chest and started panting heavily. She looked at Sakura with wide eyes. "I'm going to be a horrible wife," she said. "I can't cook, and I can't read him the newspaper, and I can't even wash the dishes."

"I'd love to see a Tomoyo like that," Sakura said, and she grasped Tomoyo at the cheeks. "Calm down, would you? You'll be fine. You'd be _perfect_." She then reached down to grab her firmly by the hands. "What is the big deal? It's just a crowd, and it's not like you've never seen them before. You've wanted for so long to get married to Eriol, and you've planned for so long for the perfect wedding anyway. You've already been through this much; don't go and chicken out now."

"But, I'm just scared," Tomoyo whispered, glancing at her with almost-sad eyes. "What if someone says they don't want us to marry?"

"There will be plenty enough people on set who would kill him," Sakura said firmly. "Or her," she added. "I'd be happy to."

"I shouldn't have invited so many people," Tomoyo finally sighed, rubbing her forehead. "It's just, I don't want so many people looking at us. It's frightening. Gargh, I should have thought of that in the first place!"

"Can't help it," Sakura shrugged, "they'd all hold a grudge against you and your husband if you didn't invite them."

Tomoyo lowered her hand, her eyes half-closed, blinking thoughtfully. Finally, she smiled a little, looking at Sakura underneath her heavy lashes with a small flush on her cheeks. "Husband," she murmured, "I like the sound of that."

Sakura beamed, throwing an arm across Tomoyo's shoulders and saying, "Don't worry, Tomoyo, you've got us. You've got everyone's love and approval, no one would want to break you and Eriol apart. You're made for each other, alright?" Tomoyo smiled. "You want to get married, so go and do it."

With a sigh, Tomoyo pulled Sakura into a tight and loving hug. Nearby, Tomoyo's mother came to usher her daughter to change into her dress. Pulling them up, Sakura led her to the changing room, and the dark-haired woman sent her a grateful look. She said gently, "When you get married," Sakura blinked quizzically, "No one would stand in your way."

"Aw," Sakura replied, "we'll worry about that later." She pushed Tomoyo gently into the room, laughing, "Come on, Tomoyo. We're all waiting for your beautiful bridal side!"

With a giggle, Tomoyo reached her mother and was helped changing into her dress. Rika came up beside Sakura in a bridesmaid dress, smiling. "We should go and meet up with the best man." She suddenly giggled. "Sorry, best _men_." She rolled her eyes funnily. "Well _that_ doesn't sound weird at all."

"Are they all here?" Sakura asked, and for some reason, she felt a little breathless. Thinking of the possibility that she might be able to see him soon. . . Sakura shook her head with a blush, repeating, "They're all here, right?"

"Uh-huh," Rika nodded. "We'll go meet them now. I already told Chiharu, so she's probably already there." Rika took her hand, and glanced at the dressing room with a smile. "I'm so happy for Tomoyo. I can't believe she's already getting married."

"Heart-warming, right?" Sakura smiled back. "Can't believe she's already grown up."

"Let's go," Rika said, tugging her gently. "We'll come back when Tomoyo's ready to go. Her mother said that we should go over the walking order since everyone's here now, so it should be quick." More quietly, she added, "Though I bet you'll need a lot of time with him, right?"

Sakura blushed.

"Don't worry, you'll have plenty of time later. Let's go now. Li-san is waiting."

Li, Sakura thought, letting Rika pull her lightly towards the lobby. Syaoran, she murmured under her breath, and smiled in remembrance. In the several months that he was gone, he'd contacted her many times. He said that there were some family businesses he had to take care of –along with some minor international businesses-, and that he'd return a few days before his best friend and Tomoyo's wedding. Although that was true, Sakura never got the chance to see him as she was busy with her work and the wedding when she had time, and he had some company issues as well. Eriol couldn't have handled it all. Sakura brought up Syaoran's own wedding subject once, but to her surprise and dismay, he averted the topic. He replied that Eriol and Tomoyo's marriage was more important.

But phone calls didn't ameliorate Sakura's anxiousness to see him. In fact, even if she desperately tried not to, she only wanted to be with him more. Not as anything special, she thought with a mental scorn to herself, but as a close friend. He needed to come back soon. It was unacceptable that he left for so long.

Three men –and a woman- stood in the center of the lobby just a door behind the wedding ceremony. Sakura could hear people speaking loudly through the walls, and Rika greeted her own boyfriend –Sakura and Tomoyo's old college teacher and best man- with excited glee, but she stopped moving and stared when the person she was looking for came into view. He was sitting on a couch, leaned forward on his knees, smiling with amusement as the other two couples displayed some very public affection. He turned to her quick, though, when Sakura unconsciously clasped her fingers around the necklace he gave her. Something flashed behind his eyes, but he hid it and stood up from his seat, placing his hands in his pockets and walking over to her.

Sakura could feel the body heat radiating off him when he approached her, and he stopped with a small smile. She bit her lip, looking up at him, and they said simultaneously:

"Hello."

"Hi."

Just like the first time they met, Sakura thought with some amusement.

Syaoran was the first to move, and his smile stretched wide before he reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace. He breathed into her hair, as if unsure of what exactly to say to her, but he finally settled down to, "Time flew by very fast, huh?"

Sakura couldn't help but laugh. It felt great, ignoring the fact that it might be because she'd held her breath in for so long. She hugged him back, giggling, "Sure. Was that the first thing you could think of?"

He mock-sighed, saying with a grin, "That wasn't what I planned to say though."

"Oh?" With a curious look, Sakura pulled back, looking up at him. Her heart jumped at their close contact, his hands around her shoulders, his amber eyes smiling brightly at her. She said, rather timidly, "What did you plan to say?"

His grin was gorgeous. "That you look beautiful."

Pink flames engulfed her neck and her face, and Sakura giggled nervously, with a little glee, and couldn't help but roll her eyes. "You didn't even see me then," she said, "how would you know?"

Syaoran shrugged, but she noted, he was blushing a little too. He reached up, and his fingers touched the green necklace he gave her. His eyes grew warm when he returned his gaze back to hers. "You've always been beautiful."

Sakura held in another breath, feeling as if her heart was bursting into flames and melting into goo at the same time. She smiled, and wasn't even thinking when she said, "I've missed you."

He dropped the pendant gently, reaching up and brushed a strand of hair from her forehead, before he said with a murmur, "You have no idea." He dropped his hand quick, and grasped her own that had been held together tightly, and he added, "We've got a lot to do." He tugged at her and tilted his head to the other two couples, who were now staring at them funnily. "Come on, they're waiting for us."

"Oh," Sakura said, not without some disappointment. She smiled at them nervously when they returned to the group, and Chiharu, her and Tomoyo's old friend, gave her a waggle of the eyebrows and a goofy grin before she said, "Great! Now everyone's here. We should just go over what we need to do once we get out there." She pointed at her boyfriend and said, "Yamazaki and I will go out first, after the first girl sprinkles flowers over the aisle." She made fluttering gestures with her fingers. "And then you guys will go out," she pointed to Rika and her boyfriend, "so Sakura, and Li-san, don't forget to get the second flower-girl out and also the boy with the ring, who-" she cut off, looking behind her at the door to the wedding, "I hope has not swallowed the wedding bands."

Sakura giggled.

"That boy will come after you guys, but make sure you remind him to," Chiharu gave a pointed look at her and Syaoran. "He's shy, but he eats everything, so make sure nothing happens to the rings."

"I'm sure he'll agree to throw them back up if he does," Syaoran said, shrugging a little. "I have my way with kids."

Sakura couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Chiharu was charmed though, and she smiled at Syaoran with satisfaction. She said to Sakura, "He knows his stuff," the other two laughed, "take advantage of that, Sakura!"

"Oh please," she said, glaring at Syaoran teasingly. "He'll be the one taking advantage of me. Who knows what he might do once we get out there!"

Syaoran coughed delicately, saying underneath his breath, "Says the one who thinks I'm totally hot."

Now she really glared.

Chiharu decided to kindly ignore Sakura's protest, and she added to Syaoran, "I'm sure Eriol's told you, but here's just a reminder: You'll stand next to him once you get up there, and then when we exit, you and Sakura will be the first to leave again. You'll take the boy because he'll be standing on our side, and then we'll go out." She smiled at them, pointing at their hands, "Do you need to practice walking side-by-side?"

Sakura shook her head. "No thanks."

Syaoran didn't think so. "Sure."

She gave him a glare as he took her hand and grasped it in front of them, so they stood shoulder-to-shoulder. It looked –and felt- rather awkward. "Like this?" Then he dropped her hand and put his arm around her shoulders. "Or like this?" He looked down, glancing at Sakura disapprovingly, "Sakura, baby, put your arm around my waist."

"Idiot," she said, but not without a smile. The other adults standing in the room burst out into laughter at their tactics, and Syaoran's chuckle near her body was contagious. Sakura laughed too. "You're such an egocentric idiot!" She yelled.

He shrugged back, smirking at her and winking, "Don't get upset now, _baby_."

* * *

Tomoyo looked beautiful.

Beautiful was an understatement, really, for the woman practically _glowed_. Her pale skin was flawless and radiant, and a natural blush stained the tops of her cheeks. She glanced at Sakura a little tearfully when she returned, but she smiled when she said, "I'm so nervous."

With an encouraging smile, Sakura walked up to her and clasped her hand. She looked at her friend up and down, and finally released a breath and said, "You're gorgeous, Tomoyo! You're beautiful." She laughed. "Why are you nervous? You're so perfect!"

"Is everything ready?" She looked at Sakura expectantly, trembling with excitement or anxiousness, or both. "Oh gosh, Sakura, I'm so nervous!"

"Everything's ready," Sakura nodded, smiling so wide her cheeks began to ache. "We're all waiting for you. Let's go."

"I love you, Sakura," Tomoyo hugged her side when they started walking to the door. "I'm so happy you're here with me."

Sakura hugged her back, and said, "Always."

Rika handed Tomoyo a bouquet and they all laughed tearfully, before Tomoyo's mother kissed her on the cheek, and left before them. Sakura held the bride's hand as they walked towards the lobby, and the dark-haired woman leaned closer as they walked, whispering, "How did it go with Syaoran-kun?"

Sakura blushed, shook her head, and laughed, "Let's not talk about that."

"Why not?" Tomoyo protested. "We might not get the chance to until way after the wedding. Maybe even tomorrow!" She paused, and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, maybe that wouldn't be too bad. You could tell me all about tonight with him, you kn-"

"Oh, shut up," Sakura cut her off with a red face. Tomoyo giggled at her look. "That's not funny! Syaoran just got back, and I haven't even gotten a chance to ask him how things turned out in Hong Kong." Sakura shrugged. "I mean, who knows, maybe he's officially engaged by now."

Tomoyo rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt so."

Her best friend looked at her quizzically. "Why not?"

"A guy like him? He wouldn't go up and marry someone else when he's already kissed you a dozen times. And it's not like Yelan-sama doesn't like you."

Sakura frowned, and started whispering, "But-"

Rika turned to her, pressing a finger to her lips. "We're almost there. He might hear you!"

With a thankful look, Sakura pursed her lips.

"Don't worry," Tomoyo winked at her. "We'll figure something out."

Once they reached the lobby, the best men all greeted them. Tomoyo saw Syaoran, and he took a step forward and gave her a small hug, whispering, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," she replied, smiling gratefully. Sakura took Syaoran's arm, but looked back at her friend at the last moment, mouthing three familiar words.

Tomoyo blew a kiss at her.

The music played as the lobby door opened, and Chiharu and Yamazaki linked arms together and walked into the aisle. Syaoran leaned down to Sakura's ear, and said, "Are you sad to see your best friend leaving to get married?"

Sakura nodded, looking at him curiously. "Of course, I am. Aren't you?"

Syaoran shrugged. "Nah. Eriol's always been a hassle. I'm rather glad that he's going."

She elbowed him in the rib, glaring teasingly, and said, "That's mean."

He grinned at her, holding her to him closer, as they were heading out soon. "I'll miss him too, but at least I'm glad he's going to be with someone as great as Tomoyo."

Sakura smiled, and nodded again, this time more confidently. "They're perfect for each other." She leaned down, and softly ushered the second flower-girl out. She bit her lip, tripped a little, but fixed herself and walked into the aisle while throwing pink petals. Sakura turned around and looked at the ring-boy, who, thankfully, was holding the rings instead of eating them. He nodded up at her look, and blushed, staring intently at the wedding bands. Sakura turned back, and Syaoran was smiling at her gently. Flushing a light pink, Sakura blinked up at him, and whispered, "And you? Have you found the perfect one yet?"

It wasn't the good time to ask. Syaoran opened his mouth a little, almost as if to reply, but he closed it, looked out at the aisle, and bit his lip. He held her hand, and pulled a little, "Sakura-"

"Uh," she dumbly replied, and she tugged back at him so they could walk out. Arm-in-arm, they strode slowly with the music down a flower-covered lane, smiling at the people who've arrived. They both glanced up, and Eriol was standing there nervously, sending them a tight grin, before Syaoran gave him a reassuring nod. Sakura felt an odd sense of pride for Tomoyo, that everything had turned out so perfect, and she found a great match. Heart fluttering, Sakura looked at Syaoran from the corner of her eyes.

If only, she thought, when she and Syaoran reached the end of the aisle and parted with a smile, things could be this perfect for them, too.

* * *

The wedding ceremony ended with a big applause. People burst into tears, Tomoyo and Eriol passionately made out, and the music started playing an upbeat song as confetti blew up in the air.

In the end, everyone gathered together at the hotel's restaurant to celebrate the after-party. The newly-weds walked hand-in-hand after the crowds, smiling, having eyes only for each other, and Sakura fought the urge to tackle them into a smothering hug. But she decided that wouldn't be healthy.

Underneath the warm-lit dancing floor, she sighed with admiration for the couples in each other's arms. She smiled at Tomoyo, who giggled and waved at her, before pointing –quite noticeably- towards Syaoran. Yelan was there, talking with Tomoyo's mother, and Syaoran stood up, walking towards her with a smile on his face. "This lovely miss," he said, holding out his hand, "would you like a dance?"

Sakura laughed, giving him a look as she gave him her hand, and said, "When did you become such a gentleman?"

He looked offended. "Whatever do you mean? I've always been a gentleman." He pulled her up from her seat, and led her to the dance floor. Once there, he brought her close and placed his hand on her waist.

She scrunched up her face at him, and replied, "Really? I don't remember it so. Who was the one always telling inappropriate jokes and teasing me about my weight?"

Syaoran looked around, his tousled brown hair flipping and covering his eyes as he searched with wide eyes. "Oh? Who? I don't know whether to shake his hand or kiss him."

"Neither, please," Sakura laughed, and he returned back to her with a smile. She tilted her head, and brushed his hair from his face. "Remember the first time we met?"

"Yes," he said, a funny look in his eyes. "You called me a man-whore."

"Not that time," Sakura rolled her eyes, laughing again. "When we first met," she repeated. "You were totally mean."

"You were the one who dumped coffee on me a few days later," he protested. He shrugged. "Oh yeah, you're totally gentle."

"Well, I never said I was a gentle-_woman_," Sakura teased. Syaoran ignored that, and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms more tightly around her body. With his breath right next to her cheek, Sakura paused with nervousness, and looked up at him bashfully. Her heart fluttered restlessly, but she wasn't supposed to feel this way. For all she knew, he really could be an engaged man right now.

"I've missed you," he whispered, gazing into her eyes. She bit her lip, whispering,

"Took you long enough to say that."

Syaoran chuckled, and his rumble vibrated between their bodies and made her shiver. He looked at her with a look, his lips curling, and whispered even deeper, "Are you cold?"

"No," Sakura immediately replied, blushing and looking away. "I'm fine. It's just. . . how have you been? How did things turn out in Hong Kong?"

"Great," he said, nodding a little. "Everything's fixed. The Elders wanted to see if I was totally okay, and they wanted me to catch up with some things back in China. I also represented Eriol in several meetings because he couldn't come."

"Right," Sakura nodded, understanding. "He did well in the company, I heard, when you were gone."

"It was a lot of work for him," he chuckled. "He kept complaining on and on each time we talked about how I'm not there, but I think he was just nervous to get married."

"I'm so happy for them," she glanced at the side, where Tomoyo and Eriol were happily dancing together.

After a moment, Syaoran slowed their movements, and he sighed before grasping Sakura tight and placing his chin on her shoulder. She blinked in surprise, trying to look at him, but she couldn't, since he found the angle to breathe into her ear, "About what you said before," she shivered at his voice, "before we walked down the aisle," her heart fluttered without her permission, "you asked me a question."

"Yeah," she whispered, biting her lip. She felt nervous suddenly, as if he were proposing, or something. When he didn't answer, she blinked curiously. "Syaoran?"

"Yes."

Sakura blinked even more. "Yes?"

"Yes," he repeated, pulling back, pressing their foreheads together. "Yes, I've found the one."

Her heart leaped to her throat, and she paused, nearly tripping over her feet, before she grasped at his shoulders and looked up at his face. He was staring at her through his lashes, a small smile on his lips, and her eyes were wide when she asked, "Who?"

Syaoran took a breath, and exhaled, breathing mint into her face before he said, "Back in Hong Kong, I talked to the Elders about my arranged marriage and met with my, supposedly, fiancée."

Sakura's stomach pummeled. She felt as if he just blew a punch into her gut. She hastily pulled her head away, but his grip on her tightened and he closed his eyes, pressing their foreheads together again. "Hold on, listen. I'm not finished yet."

She bit her lip, looking down between them, and suddenly felt like crying. If the one for him really was his fiancée, he shouldn't be holding her like this. Not when she was in love with him and he told her he loved someone else. But Sakura swallowed, unwilling to hurt his feelings if she pushed him away, and listened with her heart at her throat, ready to fall out and break apart on the floor.

"The Elders really wanted me to marry her, so they arranged our meeting," Syaoran continued. "They said that she's perfect for me, that she'd be great for the Li corporation. Funny thing is, the first moment I saw her, I felt something very, very strong." He laughed, humorlessly, and Sakura trembled with both anticipation and pain. He looked at her with a small smile, and finished, "I _hated_ her."

Sakura's shaking stopped.

"She was _terrible_. Worse than I thought. But I already knew that, I guess meeting her was just giving me a confirmation."

She couldn't help it. Sakura blinked at him, eyes wide, and asked with both incredulity and hope, "What?"

"I was planning to break things off, anyway, no matter who she'd be," Syaoran sighed. "She was so _clingy_, and it seemed that the Elders finally saw that side of her and realized it too. You should've seen their faces," he chuckled. "They were so _pale_."

Sakura couldn't find her humor. She blinked, opening and closing her mouth, and repeated again, "What?"

Syaoran continued, his eyes understanding when he said, "I begged the Elders to break off the engagement. I told them that she wasn't right for me, that I don't want to marry her. And then I told them about _you_." She tensed underneath his fingers, and he smiled. "I told them you saved my mother, you took care of me. I did tell them you sort of nearly killed me in the first place," he chuckled again, "but then I told them, _I didn't care._ I didn't care if they wanted me to marry someone else, I didn't care if they'd be angry, and I didn't care that I was inevitably and deeply in love with you, because that wasn't something I could help." He shook his head, ignoring the fact that Sakura was completely still, eyes wide, staring, her face growing red and paling at the same moments. He could hear her heart, she was sure of it, but he didn't seem to mind because he smiled. "I told them that I wanted to be with you."

Sakura had a hard time breathing as he lifted his hand, and traced her cheek softly with his fingers. His other hand wrapping protectively around her back, and he leaned back just a little so he could directly look into her eyes. Sakura's wide eyes stared back at him, a million thoughts running through her brain, overloading her, and she wanted to say so many things that she didn't know where she would start, but he continued.

"I love you, Sakura," he said, firmly, definitely, his tone unyielding. "You're the one. No one else. One main reason I went back to Hong Kong is to break off the engagement to be with you. I love you."

Sakura was speechless again.

"And my mother loves you too," Syaoran said, looking at Yelan, but Sakura couldn't follow his gaze. "It took a while to convince that _that woman_ wasn't the one, and that you're better, but I did it. I could've come back earlier, but it took some time for them to change minds." He grasped her hand, looking into her eyes, and repeating, "I love you, Sakura. Do you love me?"

Her mouth felt dry, but she felt like bursting into wild tears of happiness.

But her expression was too blank though. Nothing else, as far as Syaoran could tell, besides shock was expressed on her face. He crinkled his brows with confusion and worry, and he shook her gently, saying her name. "Sakura? Sakura, are you okay?"

"You love me?" she finally whispered, slowly shaking out of her reverie. "You're not engaged?"

Syaoran stared at her for a moment, before he shook his head and said, "No. Not with anyone else."

"I-I thought, maybe, that you couldn't defy the Elders," Sakura said, still rather breathless. "I thought you were going to give your fiancée a chance, and that you might be with her. . . you might-"

"Fall in love with someone else?" Syaoran finished, one eyebrow raised. He laughed humorlessly. "That's not possible. Not unless I die."

Sakura broke, and her mouth stretched into a smile. It was so bright, her laughing eyes crinkled. She pressed her hands into his shoulder –which he slightly cringed at- and smiled, saying, "I love you." Both their eyes widened. "I love you, Syaoran. Gosh, I loved you so much, but I was afraid if I said anything, the Elders would be mad at you. And you wouldn't-"

Syaoran seemed to have the habit of breaking her off, for he leaned down at the moment, grasped her cheek, and kissed her hard on the mouth. Sakura remembered their first kiss, back at the hospital, so, _so_ long ago, and how beautiful that was. But this, she thought, smiling, a few tears staining her eyes, _this_ was so much better.

. . .

After they pulled apart, Syaoran grinned.

"So, okay, I know you broke up with me, but I'm still deeply, irrevocably in love with you. Can you give me another chance?"

. . .

Sakura laughed.

"Idiot. Don't break my heart this time.

Of course I'll give you another chance."

* * *

_Hooray! 'Tis the end! I need to greatly thank the ones who've come back, or stayed reading this story. I've been mean to you guys, so you deserve all my gratitude. Due to my academic schedule, I may not come back here for a long time, but if within August you guys have a great idea you really want me to write, I'll do my best. THANK YOU ALL!_


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